Upcoming
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(All events on Oahu, unless noted)
2009
10/10/09
NAGA Hawaii
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
(Hawaii, Tentative)
6/4/09 - 6/7/09
World JJ Championships
(BJJ)
(California)
5/9/09 - 5/10/09 &
5/16/09 - 5/17/09
Brazilian Nationals JJ Championships
(BJJ)
(Carson, CA)4/18/08
NY International JJ Championships
(BJJ)
(Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
5/9/09
15th Grapplers Quest Las Vegas
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
(Las Vegas, NV)
5/2/09
Uprising MMA
(MMA)
(Maui)
May 2009
Abu Dhabi World Submission Wrestling Championships
(Sub Grappling)
(Tentative)
4/4/09 - 4/5/09
NAGA World Championship
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
(NJ, Tentative)
3/27/09
- 3/29/09
Pan Am JJ Championships
(BJJ)
(Carson, CA)
3/21/09 - 3/22/09
$30k Grapplers Quest/Fight Expo/Make a Wish Weekend
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
(Del Mar, CA)
NAGA US Nationals
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
(Georgia)
3/14/09
NAGA Vegas
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
3/7/09
UFC 96
(PPV)
(Columbus, OH)
Grapplers Quest Beast of the East
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
(Wildwood, New Jersey)
2/21/09
UFC 95
(PPV)
(London, England)
2/7/09
4th Annual Clint Shelton Memorial
(Boxing)
(Palolo Gym)
Manup and Standup
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom Center)
UFC Fight Night
(PPV)
(Tampa, FL)
1/31/09
UFC 93 BJ vs GSP
(PPV)
(MGM Grand, Las Vegas, NV)
1/30/09
MMA Event
(MMA)
(Schofield Barracks)
1/24/09
Eddie Bravo Seminar
(BJJ)
1/17/09
UFC 93
(PPV)
(Dublin, Ireland)
1/10/09
MAT ATTACK Jiu-Jitsu & Submission Grappling Tournament
(Sub Wrestling)
(Lihikai School, Kahului, Maui)
1/3/08
Uprising - Maui
(MMA)
(Paukukalo
Hawaiian Homes Gym)
Hazardous Warfare - Maui
(MMA)
(Lahaina Civic Center)
2008
12/27/08
UFC 92
(PPV, Las Vegas, NV)
12/13/08
The Ultimate Fighter 8 Final
(PPV, Las Vegas, NV)
12/10/08
UFC Fight
For The Troops
(Spike TV)
Got Skillz Fighter
(Triple Threat)
(Waipahu Filcom)
11/25/08
X-1 at Cirque Hawaii
(MMA & Kickboxing)
(Cirque Hawaii, Waikiki)
11/22/08
Longman Jiu-Jitsu Open
(BJJ)
(Kauai Veterans Center,
Lihue, Kauai)
Hawaiian
Classic Kickboxing
(Kickboxing)
(Kalaheo H.S. Gym)
11/21/08
UFC: Penn-GSP Press Conference
(Blaisdell Concert Hall)
X1 World
Events
(Boxing & MMA)
(O'Lounge Night Club)
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom Center)
11/15/08
Destiny
(MMA)
(Aloha Tower Pier)
Aloha State Championship
of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
(BJJ/Sub Grapping)
(Gym #1, UH Manoa)
UFC 91
(PPV, Portland, OR)
11/7/08
HFC Stand Your Ground IX
(Kickboxing & MMA)
(Dole Cannery Ballroom)
10/25/08
X-1
(MMA & Boxing)
(Palolo Hongwangji Hall)
UFC 90
(PPV, Chicago, IL)
10/19/08
Clay Guida Seminar
(Icon Fitness & MMA Gym)
10/18/08
Destiny
(MMA)
(Waipahu Filcom Center)
UFC 89
(PPV, Birmingham, England)
10/17/08
Hawaiian Amateur Pankration Association
Presents
Friday Night Fights At Pipeline Café
(MMA)
(Pipeline Cafe, Honolulu)
10/12/08
HFL Championships
(MMA)
(Waipahu Filcom)
10/11/08
NAGA
(BJJ & Sub Wrestling)
(Blaisdell)
10/10/08
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom Center)
10/4/08
The Quest
for Champions Martial Arts Tournament
(Sport-Pankration, Submission Grappling and Continuous Sparring)
(Kalani High School Gym)
EliteXC on CBS
(TV)
808MMA
(TV)
9/27/08
X-1 Presents Temple of Boom
(Palolo Hongwanji, Honolulu)
(MMA & Boxing)
9/20/08
Boxing
(Palolo District Park)
(Boxing)
9/17/08
UFC Fight Night 15
(PPV, Omaha, NE)
9/7/08
2008 Samahan Filipino
Martial Arts Tournament
(Forms, Fighting, Masters Demonstrations)
(Pearl City High School Gym)
9/6/08
UFC 88:
Break Through
(MMA)
(PPV)
9/5/08
Got Skillz Fighter
(Kickboxing & MMA)
(Waipahu Filcom Center)
8/23/08 & 8/24/08
Hawaii Training Ctr Boxing
(Boxing)
(Waipio
Industrial Court)
8/15/08
MMA At The O
(MMA)
(O Lounge Night Club)
8/14/08
Paragon Fighter
(Kickboxing)
(O Lounge)
8/9/08
K-1 Hawaii Grand Prix
(Kickboxing & MMA)
(Stan Sheriff Center, UH at Manoa)
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Kalaheo High School)
UFC 87
(MMA)
(PPV)
7/26/08
Maui Jiu-Jitsu BJJ Tournament
(BJJ)
(Maui War Memorial Gym, Wailuku, Maui)
7/19/08
Kawano B.C., Palolo B.C., & USA-Boxing Hawai Amateur Boxing
Show
(Boxing)
(Palolo District Park Gym)
Affliction - Fedor vs. Sylvia
(PPV)
7/12/08
Aloha State
Mixed Martial Arts Competition
10AM - 7PM
(Kickboxing & MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
7/11/08
Hawaii Fighting Championships 10
(MMA)
(Dole Cannery Ballrooms)
7/5/08
UFC 86 - Jackson vs. Griffin
(PPV)
6/27-29/08
OTM Pacific Submission
Grappling Tournament
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
(Blaisdell Exhibition Hall)
MMA Expo
(Blaisdell Convention Center)
6/21/08
Hawaii
Xtreme Combat
(MMA)
(Lahaina Civic Center, Lahaina, Maui)
Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale
6/20/08
Paragon
(MMA Hybred)
(O Lounge)
6/15/08
Grapplefest
(Submission Grappling)
Anderson Silva Seminar
Studio 4, UH at Manoa
1-4PM
$100
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua Seminar
Tropic Lightning TKD
Waipahu
5-7PM
$60
6/14/08
EliteXC
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, HI)
6/7/08
UFC 85 - Bedlam
(PPV)
6/6/08
Punishment in Paradise
Pound 4 Pound
(Kickboxing)
(Ahuna Ranch, Maili)
6/5-8/08
World Jiu-Jitsu Championsihps
(BJJ)
(California State University Long Beach, Long Beach, California)
6/1/08
Hawaiian
Open of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
(BJJ/Sub Grapping)
(Gym #1, UH Manoa)
WEC 33
(Faber vs. Pulver)
(PPV)
5/31/08
CBS EliteXC
Saturday Night Fights
(9-11 p.m. ET/PT)
(CBS)
5/25/08
Man Up Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Filcom Center, Waipahu)
5/24/08
UFC 84 - Ill Will
BJ Penn vs. Sean Sherk
(PPV)
5/16/08
X-1: Legends
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, HI)
5/9/08
Man Up Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Filcom Center, Waipahu)
Hawaii Fighting Championships 9
(MMA)
(Dole Cannery Ballrooms)
5/3/08
Hawaii
Fight League
Season 1, Event 3
(MMA)
(Filcom Center, Waipahu)
Full Force 4
(MMA)
(Maui War Memorial Gym, Wailuku, Maui)
Heart-of-a-Cage-Fighter
(Kauai
Veterans Center, Lihue, Kauai)
4/25/08
Punishment
in Paradise
(Kickboxing)
(Farrington High School)
4/18/08
Local Pride
Friday, April 18, 2008
(MMA)
(Dole Cannery Ballroom)
4/12/08
Man Up &Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Filcom Center, Waipahu)
4/6/08
GrappleFest: Submission
Sundays
(Submission Grappling)
(Hawaii Room, Neal Blaisdell Center)
3/29/08
Garden Island Cage Match 7
(MMA)
(Hanapepe Stadium, Hanapepe, Kauai)
Hawaii Fighting Championships 8
(MMA)
(Maui War Memorial)
3/28-30/08
Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championship
(BJJ)
(Californina State University, Dominguez Hills, CA)
Registration ends 3/22/08
3/16/08
Sera's Kajukenbo Open Tournament
(Continuous
Sparring, MMA, Submission Grappling)
(Maui High School Gym, Kahului, Maui)
Icon Fitness Gym Tournament
(Submission Wrestling)
(Icon Fitness Gym)
3/15/08
Icon Sport
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
3/9/08
2008 Pacific Invitational BJJ Tournament
(BJJ )
(Hibiscus Room, Ala Moana Hotel, Honolulu)
3/7/08
Got Skillz Fighter
(Kickboxing/MMA)
(Waipahu Filcom)
3/1/08
USA-Boxing
Hawaii, Palolo B.C. & Kawano B.C. Presents Amateur Boxing
(Boxing)
(Palolo District Park)
2/29/08
X-1 at the O-Lounge
Fight Club Meets Nightclub 4
(MMA)
(O-Lounge, Honolulu)
2/24/08
Icon Grappling Tournament
(Sub Grappling)
(Icon Gym)
2/17/08
Hawaiian
Championship of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
(BJJ/Sub Grapping)
(Gym #1, UH Manoa)
2/15/07
Midwest Invasion: Team Indiana vs. Team Hawaii
(MMA)
(Coyotes Night Club, 935 Dillingham Blvd, Kalihi)
2/8/08
Hawaii Fighting Championships 7
(Kickboxing & MMA)
(Dole Cannery Ballroom)
2/2/08
Man up and Stand up
(Kickboxing)
(Dole Cannery
Ballroom)
1/26/08
X1 World
Events: Champions
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
1/20/08
Big
Island Open Jiu-Jitsu Tournament
(Konawaena High School)
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
(POSTPONED)
1/19/08
UFC 80: Rapid Fire
(BJ Penn vs. Joe Stevenson)
Newcastle, England
1/12/08
Hawaii Fight League
Season 1, Event 2
(MMA)
(Dole Cannery Ballroom)
|
|
January 2009 News
Part 3
|
Casca Grossa Jiu-Jitsu
is now the O2 Martial Arts Academy with 7 days a week training!
We are also offering Kali-Escrima (stick fighting) on Monday
nights with Ian Beltran and Kickboxing Tuesday and Thursday with
Kaleo Kwan & Chris Slavens!
Kids Classes are also
available!
Click
here for info!
Take classes from the Onzuka brothers in a family-like environment! |
In Memory of
Lars Chase
Rest in peace my brother
March 10, 1979 - April 2, 2008 |
Looking for a hotel
room on Oahu?
Check out this reasonably priced, quality hotel in Waikiki!
For the special Onzuka.com price, click banner above! |
Check out the FCTV website! |
Fighters' Club TV
The Toughest Show On
Teleivision
Tuesdays at 8:00PM
***NEW TIME***
Olelo Channel 52 on Oahu
Also on Akaku on Maui
Fighters' Club TV Radio
The Toughest Show On
Radio
Mondays at 9:00-10:00AM
AM1500 The Team
(808) 296-1500
- Call
in with questions and comments
with hosts Mark Kurano
& Patrick Freitas |
Onzuka.com
Hawaii Underground Forum is Online!
Chris, Mark,
and I wanted to start an official Onzuka.com forum for a while
now. We were searching for the best forum to go with and hit
a gold mine! We have known Kirik, who heads the largest and most
popular forum on the net, The Underground for years.
He
offered us our own forum within the matrix know as MMA.tv. The
three of us will be the moderators with of course FCTV808 being
the lead since he is on there all day anyway!
We
encourage everyone from Hawaii and our many readers around world
to contribute to the Hawaii Underground.
If you
do not have a login, it's simple and fast to get one.
Click here to set up an account.
Don't worry about using Pidgin English in the posting. After
all it is the Hawaii Underground and what is a Hawaii Underground
without some Aloha and some Pidgin?
To
go directly to the Onzuka.com Hawaii Underground Forum
click here!
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for pricing and more information!
Short term and long term advertising available.
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O2 Martial Arts
Academy Day Classes Start May 2!
Women & Kids Kickboxing Class starts May 4!
Click here
for pricing and more information!
O2MAA Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Day Classes will be held on Monday,
Wednesday, and Fridays from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm and will be taught
by one of Relson Gracie's first black belts, Sam Mahi!
We will be starting a Womens and Kids kickboxing class on Sunday
afternoons from 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm. The class will be taught
by none other than O2's Kaleo Kwan! It will be a non-competitive,
fun atmosphere and allow the ladies and kids to get in a quick
workout and learn some legitimate kickboxing technique before
the long work week starts.
New
O2MAA Kid's Jiu-Jitsu Class Starts Friday, December 5 from 5:30
to 6:30 PM!
Adult Wrestling Class Starts Starts Friday, December 5 from 8:30
to 9:30 PM!
|
Want to Contact
Us? Shoot us an email by Clicking Here!
Quote
of the Day
"Don't
think you're on the right road just because it’s a well-beaten
path."
Source
Unknown
|
Dana
White expects UFC 94 to be biggest event ever
Comparing the upcoming Georges St-Pierre and BJ Penn fight to blockbuster boxing fights
such as Sugar Ray Leonard-Marvin Hagler and the Mike Tyson fights
of the 80s, UFC president Dana White said today that he expects
UFC 94 to be the biggest UFC event ever.
"You're
lucky if you see three or four of these fights in your lifetime,"
White said. "Two of the best fighters in the world in their
weight classes -- both champions -- facing each other both in
their prime."
White,
who pumped $1.7 million into a three-part series to promote the
event on Spike TV, believes this megafight will translate to
record numbers in ticket sales and pay-per-view buys.
"I
know I keep saying this every time we put on another event, but
I think this is going to be the biggest one we've ever done,"
White said.
The
last time White uttered these expectations was only months ago
when Randy Couture was announced to return to the UFC at UFC
91 last November to defend his belt against Brock Lesnar.
"Couture-Lesnar
came in around what we'd thought it would do," White said.
"The next fight that we did in December actually beat Couture
and Lesnar, and I think this fight is going to beat the fight
from Dec. 27."
What separates this fight from other main events, White says,
is that St-Pierre vs. Penn has caught the attention of fighters
themselves.
"I've
been talking to a lot of the fighters and fighters are saying
'finally this is a fight that I'm excited for. I feel like a
fan.' This is a massive fight," White said.
Source: MMA Fighting |
Leticia
Ribeiro away from retirement
Three
times Jiu-Jitsu world champion, Leticia Ribeiro is going back
to USA to get the Gracie Humaitá team ready for the competition
in 2009. In exclusive chat with TATAME.com, Ribeiro spoke about
the expectation for the competitions in 2009 and doesn’t
want to stop fighting so early. “When I started teaching
I decided to be only teaching, but the competition is in my blood.
I wouldn’t compete in 2008, but when the time comes I don’t
resist and fight. It still can make a lot of people scary”,
guarantees Letícia.
Passing
through Brazil, the athlete hopes to solve the documentation
problems soon and return to America and train with their main
athletes, Ana Carolina Vidal and Beatriz Mesquita. "My team
is almost all in the United States, we’re with the whole
women team formed there. In the last three years we won everything",
celebrates Ribeiro, in the expectation of a vacancy in the ADCC.
"I
don’t know if I’ll fight the Selective to Abu Dhabi.
I’ll try to come to Brazil. Anyway, my plan is to compete
Pan-American, World Championship, everything”. Working hard
with her team in USA, Leticia confess that her teacher and athlete
routines consumes much of her day, but ensures it’s worthy:
“Carol and Bia are my top athletes. They’re four times
world champions and are following my steps, building their careers
in female Jiu-Jitsu. It’s hard to reconcile traching and
training, especially for me, because I dedicate more to them
than me, but the competition is in my blood", guarantees.
Source: Tatame |
Junior
dos Santos
After
knocking Fabricio Werdum out in his debut at the most famous
octagon in the world, Junior “Cigano” dos Santos already
has a date to step again in the cage. In conversation with TATAME,
Cigano spoke about his preparation to face Stefan Struve in UFC
95, at February 21st and the expectation for his second fight
in the Ultimate. In the exclusive interview you see below, the
fighter said, still, about the trainings with Mauricio Shogun,
made stakes for his confrontation with Mark Coleman at UFC 93
and also talked about the defeat of Rodrigo Minotauro to Frank
Mir, revealing that is whishing for the victory of Brock Lesnar.
How
is the preparation for the fight?
I
arrived in Rio de Janeiro now and I'm doing the physical preparation,
pulling the Boxing, training ground and pound... I'm already
training hard. I was already training well in Bahia and came
here to complement. I’ll work hard the striking, he’s
good at ground, but because he’s to tall it’s going
to be kind of difficult and, if it complicates me, I’ll
put him down and work the ground and pound. He’s black-belt,
but I believe I can do a good fight with him on the ground.
He
won most of them by submission. Will you try to keep the fight
standing?
I
gave a look at a fight in which he submitted a Brazilian black-belt,
but I'm getting prepared. I purple-belt, but I train with the
best, Rodrigo (“Minotauro”) is pulling very hard on
the ground, to be forceful, always looking to submit. In case
of falling over, I’ll keep the ground and pound.
How
was the experience of training with “Shogun” Rua?
I
found him very good, kicks very easily and that’s why he’s
one of the great names in MMA. It was an honor to train with
a big name as Shogun. He’s a very good person, I liked a
lot, we spoke a lot.
How
do you think it will be his fight against Mark Coleman?
I
believe a lot in his game, he’s a very tough guy. In their
first fight he was winning and in this one he’ll only prove
what everyone already knew. He’s better and I believe in
his game.
What
did you think of the Minotauro’s fight against Frank Mir,
in UFC 92?
Who
knows Rodrigo knows that something was wrong and, indeed, when
he was here, he was hospitalized 15 days before the fight, without
training because of a bacterium that he got. He has a big heart,
even then he was still fighting, but was unable to find himself,
as everyone saw. Without any doubt he is much more an athlete
than Mir, I believed, for sure, he would submit at the second
round. But he was lost, unable to develop his game. His return
will be better, he’s now focused on training, I liked that
he has returned and didn’t relax, he returned training for
the next fight.
He
said, in interview, that he was "stubborn in fighting on
foot"...
Yes...
He trains boxing since he’s 15 years old and he’s very
good, has a very good jab. I believed that he could take the
fight on top, but we saw that he couldn’t fit, took the
same hit three or four times. Something was wrong, he isn’t
like that to take the same hit, but he took at the fight and
was really inexplicable.
And
what’s your guess for the fight between Brock Lesnar and
Frank Mir?
I'll
cheer for Brock (laughs). He’s determined and won’t
make the same mistake he gave (when he was submitted in UFC 81,
by Mir). Frank Mir is very dangerous, his first round is the
best, even more when he’s attacked crazy to define, but
I believe in a victory for Brock Lesnar.
Source: Tatame |
Leonardo
Santos
Gradually,
Leonardo Santos is showing all the talent that made him the number
one at lightweight BJJ in the MMA rings. After making his MMA
debut at 2002 with a loss against Takanori Gomi in a tough battle,
Leo Santos took four years to fight again, winning one and losing
the next. In 2007, Santos did only one fight, but came back in
2008 in a great fashion, doing three fights and winning two by
submission and one by knockout. For 2009, the black belt’s
plans are to continue the good job in MMA. After his victory
at Shooto Brazil 10, Leo spoke to TATAME.com about the plans.
Talk
about your first victory at 2009.
It
was the best thing I did, because I was already coming from the
sequence of fights. Now, I’ll travel to do some seminars
and wouldn’t come back without another fight. It was great
for me, fought a tough guy, very determinate and had no time
to analyze the fight very well. He came up with all disposition
and I could control it at the right time and then I put him down
and submitted.
What
is your goal for this year?
I’m
not worried about how many fights I’m gonna do ... My goal
is to fight outside the country, I’m not worried where,
I wanna fight. I’m doing this fights to get experience,
fighting pace, because by big focus is to fight outside the country
again.
At
Shooto 9 you surprised everybody with a knockout and in this
edition you submitted as you had promised before...
That’s
the idea. I’ll never come here and say that I’ll knockout
everybody, it’s not my beach, I’ve been training boxing
and I’m getting better on it. It’ll be good when I
get my hand and kicks full for knockouts, but my idea is always
go for a submission.
In
2005, you fought the ADCC and did a great job. Will you fight
again this year?
If
the guys from ADCC remembers my name and invite me to fight will
be great, because I won’t go to the Selective. I’ll
be back by the end of March because I have some commitment at
Canada. But it’s logical that I want to fight, Abu Dhabi
is a great event and I wanna be there because the best fighters
will be and I think I deserve to be there.
Source: Tatame |
Donald
Trump Jr. says UFC floods the market
Donald Trump Jr. says he expects the Affliction "Day of
Reckoning" pay-per-view to do well because unlike the UFC,
fewer shows allow Affliction to give fans a better card for their
money.
Trump
Jr. was asked during an appearance this morning on CNBC about
the challenge of selling a pay-per-view for $44.95 in today's
economy.
"We're
going to give them the best," Trump Jr. told CNBC's Darren
Rovell. "We're going to put on a great show, not put on
20 shows and say, 'Well, maybe they won't tune in, we'll just
kinda flood them with volume' like a lot of our competition.
We want to get a great card and have people feel like they got
a value out of it after watching the show."
Affliction
will likely promote three more events following Saturday's show
in Anaheim, California. The UFC on the other hand, held 20 shows
in 2008 and already have nine events lined up in 2009 through
mid-June.
"There's
just not that many people in the world that you can put on a
great show 20 times a year," Trump Jr. said.
Source: MMA Fighting |
Former
foes weigh in on Margarito-Mosley
The
task for Shane Mosley is patently obvious. It’s the execution
that figures to be the difficult part.
Mosley
will gun for his second welterweight title, more than eight and
a half years after he won his first, when he meets WBA champion
Antonio Margarito at sold-out Staples Center in Los Angeles on
Saturday in a bout that will be televised nationally on HBO.
Mosley,
37, must find a way to slow Margarito’s momentum and at
least make him think about defense occasionally.
Margarito
fights as if he’s going downhill, and he’s always in
his opponent’s face. He takes a lot of punches that way,
but the constant pressure he puts on an opponent with his attack
is mentally wearying and causes many a fighter to break.
Miguel
Cotto was perceived to be the best welterweight in the world
when he fought Margarito in July and he couldn’t handle
it. Cotto was outboxing Margarito for most of the fight, but
his blows were having little impact and Margarito relentlessly
bore forward.
He
eventually stopped Cotto in the 11th round of an outstanding
battle. Cotto, who won an impressive unanimous decision over
Mosley in New York on Nov. 10, 2007, said finding a way to deal
with the pressure is crucial for Mosley.
“I
think the pressure Margarito puts on is a factor in his favor,”
said Cotto, who meets Michael Jennings for the vacant WBO welterweight
belt on Feb. 21 in New York.
One
of the men who dealt with the pressure well is Paul Williams,
the WBO’s interim super welterweight champion. Williams
won a unanimous decision over Margarito on July 14, 2007, by
keeping a jab in Margarito’s face and finding a way to neutralize
his pressure.
Williams
suspects that Mosley has paid close attention to the tape of
his fight with Margarito.
“Going
into that fight, our plan was pretty clear and we knew how to
deal with that pressure,” Williams said. “The whole
thing was, don’t let him get off, and I didn’t. I’m
not going to share that with anybody, but I knew from Day 1 in
sparring that I would be able to stop him from getting off.
“I’m
sure Shane is going to take from what I did and some from what
Cotto did and use that in his plan against Margarito.”
Williams
said he believes Mosley will win most of the early rounds of
the fight and that Margarito will begin to come on down the stretch.
He said the question in the fight in his mind is whether Mosley
will be able to handle the pace.
Cotto,
who did win most of the early rounds in his scrap with Margarito,
said Mosley must be disciplined enough to box.
“Shane
has to use his hand speed and move around constantly,” Cotto
said. “If he uses his skills, it will be a difficult night
for Tony.”
Williams
doesn’t disagree, but he said Mosley can’t afford to
make the one mistake he says Cotto made: “Cotto tried to
knock him out and that’s something you can’t do.”
Williams
never really sat down on his punches and let loose. He just kept
a glove in Margarito’s face constantly.
Margarito
has one of the best chins in boxing, as he proved against Cotto,
and he’s all but impossible to knock out.
“When
you hit him with your power shots and he’s not going anywhere,
it can be frustrating, of course,” Williams said. “The
important thing when you’re fighting Margarito is not even
to worry about a knockout. You got to come in great shape and
ready to fight 12 hard rounds. When you fight him, you’re
going to be working the whole time. He’s got such a great
chin.
“The
thing to do against him is just keep winning them rounds, putting
them in the bank. If you’re not going to knock him out,
then that’s how you win the fight. Believe in the plan and
execute and stay with it.”
Mosley’s
discipline will be critical. He loves to stand in front of an
opponent and trade and, for the most part, it’s helped him
build a Hall of Fame career. But that got him into trouble in
some of his fights, most notably against Winky Wright, who was
bigger and stronger and relished the chance to trade with a smaller
guy.
He
didn’t look like the prime Shane Mosley when he stopped
Ricardo Mayorga on Sept. 27 at the Home Depot Center in Carson,
Calif. He had problems with Mayorga’s pressure and his awkward
style.
And
he’ll likely have more problems on Saturday. Margarito is
unlike any opponent he’s ever faced.
There
are few men in the game tougher than Mosley, but if he had difficulty
with Mayorga’s pressure, he’ll have far more with Margarito’s.
Expect
Margarito to rally after a slow start and pull out a unanimous
decision.
Source: Yahoo Sports |
Quote
of the Day
"Mistakes
are the portals of discovery."
James Joyce
|
WEC
38 BONUSES: VARNER, CERRONE, FABER & ALDO
With only three of Sunday night's 10 bouts at WEC 38 in San Diego
going to a decision, the fighters delivered action in spades.
The main card fighters – who competed on the Versus network
telecast – especially delivered exciting action and it garnered
many of the them an extra $7,500 bonus check.
MMAWeekly.com
learned of the WEC 38 awards and bonuses on Sunday night from
WEC officials.
The
main event was a back and forth affair between WEC lightweight
champion Jamie Varner and challenger Donald "Cowboy"
Cerrone. Everyone anticipated fireworks in this one and the fighters
didn't disappoint. The bout came down to the fifth and final
round. Despite a disappointing finish – the fight ended
up going to the scorecards following an unintentional illegal
knee from Cerrone kept Varner from finishing the bout –
Varner and Cerrone did enough earlier to earn the WEC 38 Fight
of the Night.
Never
lacking for excitement in his fights, former featherweight champ
Urijah Faber delivered a fight ending guillotine choke against
Jens Pulver to score the WEC 38 Submission of the Night bonus.
If the would have lasted more than a minute and a half, Faber
and Pulver may have been on course for Fight of the Night. Faber,
however, was too quick to capitalize on a hard body shot that
folded Pulver over, locking on the choke shortly after.
Rising
featherweight contender Jose Aldo locked up the WEC 38 Knockout
of the Night bonus with his devastating knee strike that floored
Rolando Perez near the end of round one.
WEC
38 AWARDS AND BONUSES
(All awards include a $7,500 bonus for each fighter.)
WEC
38 Fight of the Night
– Jamie Varner and Donald Cerrone
WEC
38 Submission of the Night
– Urijah Faber
WEC
38 Knockout of the Night
– Jose Aldo
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Faber
makes quick work of Pulver in rematch
SAN
DIEGO – Sunday night’s rematch with Jens Pulver could
have been considered the MMA equivalent of a “trap game”
for Urijah Faber.
The
former WEC featherweight champion had already beaten Pulver last
summer, taking all five rounds in a convincing unanimous decision.
Faber
was also coming off the upset loss of his title to Mike Brown
in November, which ended his 13-fight winning streak.
There
seemed to be lots of downside and little upside to another fight
with the fading Pulver. So Faber did the only thing he could
do in such a situation: Score a quick and convincing victory.
Faber,
the star of the show for the estimated 8,000 in attendance at
the San Diego Sports Arena, took out Pulver at 1:45 of the first
round with a guillotine choke.
“I’m
back,” Faber said. “After the way my last couple fights
went, I wanted to go in against a guy like Jens and get the finish.
I want to get my belt back.”
Faber
(22-2) didn’t take long to find an opening, as he hit Pulver
with a wicked left hand to the liver that sent him searching
for an escape. Faber dropped Pulver with a knee along the fence
and quickly maneuvered him into position for the submission.
“I’ll
tell you what, after getting hit like that, I want to apologize
to anyone I’ve ever hit
with
a body shot in the past 11 years,” Pulver joked after the
fight.
The
match was a stark contrast to the first battle, the memorable
June 1 Sacramento slugfest in which Faber and Pulver stood and
banged for much of the fight’s 25-minute duration.
“Last
time, I got caught up in the moment,” said Faber. “I
knew I was going against this legendary banger and we had a big
spotlight, and I wanted to put on a show. This time I wanted
to get back to business.”
The
win sets up Faber’s chance to regain the title. Brown defends
the title against Leonard Garcia on March 1 in Corpus Christi,
Texas, and Faber is an interested observer.
“I
think Mike’s the better fighter, but Leonard isn’t
going to be an easy match,” said Faber, who earned a $7,500
bonus for the night’s best submission. “I don’t
care who wins. I wish they could both lose.”
While
Faber has his sights set on the future, Pulver (22-11-1) stole
the show with an emotional postfight scene.
The
first UFC lightweight champion has earned his spot as one of
the legends of the business. He inspired a generation of smaller
fighters as an undersized 155-pounder who simply fought harder
than anyone else to earn his keep.
But
a lifetime of scrapping seems to be catching up to the 34-year-old
Pulver. Sunday’s loss was his fifth in his past six fights.
He’s 1-3 since moving to the WEC and dropping to featherweight,
a move that was designed to revive his career.
Additionally,
the loss capped a period in which Pulver both witnessed the birth
of a son and lost his best friend in the business, former college
wrestling teammate Justin Eilers, who was killed on Christmas
Day.
“Three
losses in a row,” Pulver said in his postfight interview.
“I’m starting to wonder [if he’s finished] that
myself. Right now I’m feeling like a really old 34-year-old
man.”
The
Sports Arena crowd wasn’t having any of that talk, though.
They sent him out on a high note with a sustained standing ovation.
“That
was the moment, right there,” he said. “When the fans
responded like that, that’s when I decided I’m going
to carry on. You guys don’t know how tough it’s been.
I don’t want to sound like I’m making excuses, but,
the things I’ve been through … I’m not the type
who goes to funerals and things like that.”
Strange
ending to title match
The
show’s final match, between lightweight champion Jamie Varner
and challenger Donald Cerrone, came to an unusual conclusion.
Cerrone
charged Varner early in the fifth round as Varner was attempting
to get off the mat. Varner dropped back to his knees, but Cerrone
followed through and hit the downed Varner in the temple with
a knee.
The
match was stopped when Varner couldn’t continue after a
rest period.
Since
Cerrone began his attempted knee when Varner’s knees were
off the mat, it was ruled an unintentional foul, which meant
the match went to the judges’ scorecards. Had the foul been
ruled intentional, Cerrone would have been disqualified. Varner
won on two scorecards, 49-46 and 49-46; Cerrone took a 48-47
score.
The
knee infraction capped a brutal match in which Varner ended up
with a broken foot. Cerrone, for his part, fought much of the
match unable to see out of his left eye after taking a first-round
ground pounding.
Varner
was booed by the crowd after the fight, something he didn’t
appreciate. “I didn’t ask to get kneed in the head
on the ground,” he said. “We went all out for five
rounds and gave these guys everything. I was out, when I woke
up I actually thought I lost the fight, I didn’t know what
happened. I broke my foot and took a knee and they booed me.
Whatever.”
Both
fighters got $7,500 Fight of the Night bonuses. Varner indicated
that he still considers Cerrone his No. 1 contender and wants
a rematch.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Is
Fedor’s legend enough to save Affliction?
ANAHEIM,
Calif. – The legend of Fedor Emelianenko added another chapter
Saturday night at the Honda Center.
And
for the third time in his career, he appeared in trouble. And
for the third time, just seconds later, he was the winner.
Emelianenko
stopped former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski in 3:14
of Round 1 to retain his World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts
heavyweight title in the main event of Affliction: Day of Reckoning.
Arlovski
had just connected with a push kick to the chest that backed
Emelianenko into the corner. Arlovski went in for one of his
bread-and-butter moves, the flying knee, and while Arlovski was
in mid-air, Emelianenko threw an overhand right. Arlovski went
down like he was shot.
“I
knew that Arlovski was prone to make a mistake and I saw the
opportunity and I capitalized on it,” said Emelianenko (29-1,
1 no-contest) through an interpreter after the fight.
Arlovski’s
superior boxing technique gave him a slight advantage in the
three minutes of the fight, up until his mistake.
“I
read what he said in a Russian newspaper about this not being
a boxing match, but being an MMA match, and I guess he was right,”
said Arlovski, who felt he was controlling the fight until throwing
the knee.
Emelianenko
downplayed Arlovski’s early advantage or that he was really
hurt by the push kick that knocked him backward.
“No,
not really. I didn’t get hurt at all,” he said. “Andre’s
punches were mostly glancing blows. They didn’t hit me on
the button and I didn’t feel them too much.”
Emelianenko
had two prior fights where it appeared he was in serious trouble.
One, against Kazuyuki Fujita, saw him seriously stunned by a
punch, but he recovered and quickly choked Fujita out. Another,
against Kevin Randleman, saw him picked up and suplexed on the
back of his head, but he got right up from the fall and submitted
Randleman seconds later.
But
Arlovski believed Emelianenko was vulnerable.
“I
let myself down and I let my trainers down,” he said. “They
gave me a game plan and I don’t know why I didn’t follow
the game plan and threw the flying knee.”
For
the second time, Affliction Entertainment proved to be able to
put on a strong live show and drew an announced crowd of 13,228,
only slightly down from its packed first show in July in the
same venue.
But
with a huge payroll for the event, reported by MMAWeekly.com
at $3.3 million, the question remains whether the company is
in it for the long haul. Getting that many fans to the Honda
Center was a huge success considering there were another 20,000-plus
fans at the Staples Center in Los Angeles for the Shane Mosley-Antonio
Margarito boxing match. But success or failure depends more on
pay-per-view numbers, which Affliction vice president Tom Atencio
wouldn’t discuss.
The
first event did about 100,000 buys, which was the best number
for a non-UFC MMA event in history, but a major money loser for
an event Atencio had previously said would need 250,000 buys
to break even.
No
date or place was announced for a third show, with Atencio only
estimating in about four months and that they would have to sit
down with their partners, M-1 Global, the company that represents
Emelianenko, The Trump Organization and Oscar De La Hoya’s
Golden Boy Promotions on Monday to start to work on it.
De
La Hoya praised the show as the best MMA event he had seen and
emphasized what more in the arena came away with: that Emelianenko
is every bit what he’s cracked up to be with his tag as
the new “baddest man on the planet.”
“This
is not a short-term relationship,” he said, giving the impression
he was impressed by the prospects of a new sport for his company.
“This is going to be a long-term relationship.”
Atencio
said he was working on Emelianenko vs. Josh Barnett for the main
event on the next show. Barnett defeated Gilbert Yvel in a third-round
stoppage in the show’s semifinal match.
“I
always said that the Fedor-Arlovski winner would face the Barnett-Yvel
winner,” said Atencio. “That’s a fight I would
like to see and it’s a fight the fans, especially in Japan
[where Emelianenko and Barnett have fought primarily the past
several years] would like to see.”
Barnett
(24-5) would be Emelianenko’s last top level non-UFC heavyweight
challenge. Barnett controlled Yvel (35-13-1) on the ground for
most of their fight. He damaged the left side of Yvel’s
face with punches and elbows before Yvel tapped out at 3:05 of
the final round.
But
neither participant seemed thrilled about the prospect of the
match, even though both said they were open to do it.
When
asked if he wanted to fight Barnett next, Emelianenko said, “No,
he’s my friend.”
“I
don’t care about rankings and belts,” said Barnett.
“I just want to fight and beat the hell out of my opponent
or give an exciting performance.”
Barnett
said he had a lot on his mind going into the fight, as his boxing
coach, Oscar Muniz, was involved in a serious auto accident Friday
and in intensive care. He also noted that he was good friends
with Justin Levens, the fighter who is believed to have died
along with his wife last month in what police termed a possible
murder-suicide.
Barnett,
whose face was a mass of cuts and bruises from Yvel mostly punching
upward while on his back, felt disappointed with his performance.
“It
was a game plan to wear him down over the fight,” he said.
“But the game plan was to finish him right away. I thought
they were going to stop the fight in the first. I’m not
happy about my performance. I couldn’t get the submission.”
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Fabrício
Camões in talks with UFC
Without
fighting since EliteXC’s collapse in the United States,
Fabricio “Morango” Camoes wants to go back to America
and find another job. After two great victories in the octagon,
Morango can’t sign with another event until his contract
is released from the organization. “I’ll go back there
by the end of the month, I just came to Brazil to renew my visa
and see my family. I have some proposals from another organizations
in the US, like UFC, but I didn’t sign anything yet because
EliteXC has my contract. I’m just waiting to sign with another
event. I’m trying to do it fast”, said the BJJ black
belt.
Enjoying
the vacation in Brazil, Morango doesn’t stay a long time
away from training, since then he went to Delfim’s gym and
trained with Brazilian Wrestling team and MMA at X-Gym, where
he trained with Ronaldo “Jacaré” Souza, Anderson
Silva, Rafael “Feijão” Cavalcante and Fabio
Maldonado. “I need to stay training”, said Camoes,
helping Anderson on his preparation to face Thales Leites at
UFC 97: “Anderson is training with Jacaré and Sylvio
Behring (BJJ seven degrees red and black belt), and I’m
helping him too. Actually, I’m trying to help him, because
he’s already a complete guy and he’s in a level above
the guys here… He’s the man!”.
Besides
believing that Jiu-Jitsu is enough to win a MMA fight, this time
Morango thinks that Anderson’s technique will be too much
for Thales. “Fight is a box of surprises, but Anderson had
everything in the octagon, he passed for everything and it needs
to be something really new to surprise him. I’m a guy from
Jiu-Jitsu too, I trust in my technique on the ground and I win
most of them there, but the fights starts standing up and until
you put him down a lot of things can happen, and Anderson is
like “Matrix”… Thales is tough, has a great Jiu-Jitsu,
I respect him a lot and I believe it’ll be a tough fight”,
analyzed.
While
the freedom doesn’t come from EliteXC, Fabricio knows where
he’ll work when comes back to USA. “I teaching BJJ
at Brandon Ver’s team and I might start a big job in a training
center that will start soon, with Saulo Ribeiro’s ex-partner.
It’ll be Arena’s training center and I’ll be the
MMA responsible at the team”, said Morango, who passed whole
2008 training for his fights and helping Ronaldo Jacaré
and Alexandre Ribeiro for their fights at Universidade do Jiu-Jitsu,
at San Diego.
Source: Tatame
|
Arona
confirmed at ADCC 2009
Away
from competitions since 2007, at Pride, Ricardo Arona already
has a date to come back. Training at Niterói, Rio de Janeiro,
Arona gets ready to be back at ADCC 2009. With the presence of
the fighter in the event that launched him confirmed by the secretary
of the event, Wagner Gomes, we spoke to the athlete on the expectation
for the new challenge, that he knows like no one else.
"It’s
very important to fight at the ADCC because I was away from MMA
and competitions for a while, and I really started my professional
life at ADCC, after I won my first ADCC. It’s important
to return to competition and win it is very important to then
sign new MMA contracts. It’s a matter of honor, because
I’m unbeaten and is the best way to return", said Arona,
who dreams of a superfight against Fedor Emelianenko, who is
also confirmed in the event.
"He
(Wagner) talked with me about a possible superfight with Fedor
and, of course, I want it. It would be perfect, he has the difference
in weight, but that doesn’t bother me. I would like it a
lot", says the fighter. Asked about how would be the rematch
from the defeat on MMA in the rules of Submission, Arona didn’t
hide the optimism. "How would it be? (laughs) Oh, it’s
difficult to imagine a fight, but it’ll be very good, it
would be great. That’s my beach, the fight on the ground,
takedowns, without punches... It would be perfect for me".
Great
friend of Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira, Arona spoke
about the fellow’s defeat at UFC 92, when he got knocked
out by Frank Mir, but wants to talk with Rodrigo to know the
circumstances of the fight. "He didn’t appear well,
couldn’t find himself inside the ring, but I wanna talk
with him, to know what he has to say. He didn’t fight well,
you know why, fighters has this things", said Arona, that
also commented the defeat of Wanderlei Silva on the same night.
"Quinton
Jackson lost to him twice, and trained a lot to play the right
game this time. He trained more boxing and made an intelligent
game. Wanderlei continued with the same game and Quinton trained
much more and was the best", he said, speaking about Mauricio
Shogun’s victory in the following event. "He had a
strange defeat for Forrest Griffin, didn’t fight well and
I think this victory against Coleman shows that he’s still
a great fighter, but he has to fight with Griffin again. Griffin
really submitted him ", concluded Arona.
Source: Tatame
|
Lyoto
prepared for anything against Thiago
During
an interview in the United States, Dana White gave the news that
Lyoto Machida was waiting for a long time: in case of a victory
over Thiago Silva at UFC 94, the fighter will finally earn his
titleshot, against the also unbeaten Rashad Evans. "I’m
very happy to receive this news, but I’ll try not to think
about it now, because without this win (against Thiago) that
won’t happen, so I won’t think about it now",
said Lyoto, in conversation with TATAME.com.
Since
the victory against Thierry Sokoudjou in UFC 79, Lyoto already
thought he could fight for the belt, but he needed to defeat,
first Tito Ortiz, and now has to pass through Thiago to get his
chance. "Since this victory (against Sokoudjou) I thought
I was ready to fight for the belt, but the fight against Thiago
is the most important of my career now. It’s a crucial fight
for me, there’s this pressure on the fight, then I would
go one step at a time. First fight him, move safely, then I think
about it", said Machida, not risking any prediction on how
the fight will happen at January 31st, at Las Vegas.
"We
talk a lot about this on training, our thought is always going
to fight without predictions. We’re prepared for any situation.
If the fight goes on striking we’ll do it, if goes to the
ground too… I’m prepared for anything. As my father
always says, there is no prediction for fights, anything can
happen. If you expect something and it doesn’t happen, you
get frustrated and the strategy dies, so I’m prepared for
everything”, guarantees Machida.
Source: Tatame
|
Quote
of the Day
"Ultimately,
the only power to which man should aspire is that which he exercises
over himself."
Elie Wiesel
|
Fighters'
Club TV Tonight!
Channel
52
NEW TIME of 8:00 PM!
If
you are not on the Onzuka.com Hawaii Ground forum, you are missing
the latest news from upcoming events, get to rub elbows with
numerous promoters and fighters, and get to voice your opinion
on any subject you can dream up. Hit the links above to sign
up for a free account and start posting away!
|
Sera's
Kajukenbo Open Tournament
 |
Ron
Verdadero Fights in Australia!
Good luck
Ron!
Source: Nicole
|
Man
Up and Stand Up
Kickboxing
Feb 7 Saturday
Filcom Center Waipahu
Doors open at 6:00 pm
All matches & participants are subject to change.
DANIEL MADAYAG 140 CLEM HALLOWAY
PATRICK CHANDELARIA 180 JACOB
GARY UDEGAWA 140 KEONI MARTIN
THEODORE BROWN 105 JOJO GUILLONE
KAIPO KIAAINA 140 JORDAN DEKNEEF
JOSEPH ENAENA 150 BLAKE VILLANIDO
HOKU BUDDINGER 140 JOSHUA GONSALVES
SAGE YOSHIDA 150 LIKI VELLAROSA
DYLAN APILADO 95 NELSON KUKAHIKO
ETHAN RISTA 165 YOSHITAKE HIGUCHI
AULANI VEA 45 ISAAC STALCUP
MARTIN DAY 145 TBA
JONAH KUTZEN 125 JOEY SHIPPER
LOKAHI MORANTE 60 SPIKE KAHALEWAI
DEAN HENZE 166 LAWRENCE HINOJOSA
VINCE LONGBOY 135 JULIO MORENO
JUSTIN KAHALEWAI 115 ISRAEL ALVAREZ
KENANI MEDALI 190 DANIEL
ISAAC UGISILE 260+ MAT EATON
XAVIER VEA 135 EMERSON SOURIEA
NICK CORREA 145 COLAN MACKENZIE
KOLOA KAHALEWAI 240 CHRIS BARNARD
KEONI GRANDY 200+ NOLAN SANCHEZ
Source: Derrick Bright
|
Affliction
pays out $3.3 million to fighters
The disclosed salaries totaled a whopping $3,308,000 for fighters
at Affliction's "Day of Reckoning" Saturday in Anaheim,
California.
Still,
the fighter payroll is a $13,000 drop from the promotion's inaugural
event "Banned," which paid out $3,321,000 to the athletes.
The
challenger Andrei Arlovski earned almost half the entire payroll
with his $1.5 million pay day. The former UFC heavyweight champion
would have earned another quarter-million had he won the fight.
Champion
Fedor Emelianenko's salary was listed as only $300,000, but it's
a certainty that there's more to how he's being compensated for
the fight.
These
numbers are the salaries Affliction Entertainment provided to
the California State Athletic Commission.
Fighter Base Pay Win Bonus Total
Fedor Emelianenko
$300,000
Andrei Arlovski
$1,500,000
Josh Barnett
$500,000
Gilbert Yvel
$30,000
Vitor Belfort
$200,000
Matt Lindland
$225,000
Renato "Babalu" Sobral
$90,000
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
$50,000
Paul Buentello
$90,000
Kiril Sidelnikov
$10,000
Dan Lauzon
$12,000
Bobby Green
$4,000
Jay Hieron
$45,000
Jason High
$10,000
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
$150,000
Vladimir Matyushenko
$50,000
LC Davis
$14,000
Bao Quach
$7,000
Albert Rios
$6,000
Antonio Duarte
$3,000
Brett Cooper
$10,000
Patrick Speight
$2,000
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Affliction
'Day of Reckoning' Review
Affliction: Day of Reckoning came to us all live on January 24,
2009 from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. To be honest,
it was a great card on paper coming in with Vladimir Matyushenko
vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Vitor Belfort vs. Matt Lindland,
Josh Barnett vs. Gilbert Yvel, and, of course, the main event
for the WAMMA Heavyweight Championship between Andrei Arlovski
and Fedor Emelianenko on it.
So
did the event live up to the hype? Further, would Emelianenko
continue to cement the legacy that has many believing him to
be the greatest heavyweight MMA fighter of all-time?
Let’s
find out.
First,
some brief summaries of the undercard.
Patrick
Speight vs. Brett Cooper: The first round was a pretty good one,
with Cooper coming forward aggressively on his feet and hitting
home with sporadic shots and Speight connecting with counters.
In the second, though, a hard left hand to the body by Cooper
hurt his opponent. Though Speight recovered from that while on
the ground, eventually the two stood up and Cooper connected
with the huge right uppercut that he’d been working for
all night
Brett
Cooper wins by way of TKO at 4:10 of round two.
Antonio
Duarte vs. Albert Rios: The first round here was awesome, with
Duarte landing a hard right that floored his opponent, Rios achieving
takedowns, and Duarte attempting submissions. The second and
third rounds were close, and decidedly less active.
In
the end, Rios was handed a unanimous decision victory. This one
was close enough to go either way, however.
Bao
Quach vs. L.C. Davis: The first round was solid, with Davis achieving
two takedowns and almost sinking in the guillotine choke. But
then Quach turned him over, took his back, and nearly pulled
off the rear naked choke before the bell sounded. The next two
rounds saw Davis do some damage from the top on the ground and
achieve takedowns and reversals.
LC
Davis wins via unanimous decision.
“It’s
a big step for me to tell rest of the world who I am,” said
Vladimir Matyushenko before taking on Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
in what basically amounted to the main event of the undercard.
Never were truer words spoken. Would he come through just as
he had against Little Nog several years ago or would the elite
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioner use this fight as a stepping
stone toward proving just how much he had improved over the years?
The
story on the first round was simple: neither fighter did much
of anything. Matyushenko inexplicably did not try for any takedowns.
Nogueira, on the other hand, landed nothing truly noteworthy.
Still, he connected with some strikes, so give him the stanza.
In
the second, a hard left by Matyushenko hurt Nogueira. From there,
Matyushenko connected with several shots to both the face and
body. However, Nogueira recovered to later connect with multiple
knees, including one that put his opponent down for good.
Still,
this was a truly disappointing fight when you consider the fact
that Matyushenko never went for a takedown. Ultimate Kickboxing
is wonderful, but only if that’s your game. The fight that
we should’ve seen—Matyushenko using boxing to try and
take down the better striker and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu fighter
in Nogueira—never materialized. Huh?
Antonio
Rogerio Nogueira wins by way of TKO at 4:26 of round two.
The
Main Card
First,
let’s just say that I like what Affliction did with the
intros. In former PRIDE style, they lined the fighters up above
the crowd and introduced them all.
Now
onto the fights.
First
up was a match between Dan Lauzon and Bobby Green. Lauzon had
been scheduled to fight Chris Horodecki before he had to drop
out due to injury. So how would the late notice affect these
two fighters?
Well,
it would certainly affect Lauzon’s groin, as he got hit
there on three separate occasions with kicks. In fact, Green
lost two points in the first round because of the low blows.
That said, for most of the initial stanza, Green connected with
lightning fast and unorthodox punches and kicks on the seemingly
overwhelmed Lauzon.
But
after the point deductions, things changed. Lauzon went for a
few heel hooks on the ground unsuccessfully before taking Green’s
back and sinking in the rear naked choke.
Dan
Lauzon wins by way of rear naked choke at 4:55 of round one in
a very strange fight.
Next
up was what promised to be a stand up war between Kiril Sidellnikov
and Paul Buentello. Buentello never takes people down, and Sidellnikov
certainly isn’t known for that either. So coming in, you
had to figure that someone would achieve an early knockout.
But
if you did, then you were wrong. At least on the early part.
The
first round was a good one, with Buentello landing hard, sharp
jabs throughout the and Sidellnikov connecting in close. However,
Buentello landed the cleaner shots throughout, which probably
netted him the round.
The
second round was even better, with both fighters connecting with
punches that seemed to momentarily hurt their opponent. The difference
was that Buentello did that several times, whereas Sidellnikov
did it only once.
All
round long, Sidellnikov’s head was snapped back viciously
by Buentello’s punches. Yet somehow he managed to survive.
The
third stanza was all Paul Buentello, as he picked Sidellnikov
apart with jabs, low kicks, and straight rights. It was amazing
that Sidellnikov was able to stand for as long as he did. But
later in the round, the doctor decided to stop the fight.
Sidellnikov
was very tough. But it was the right decision.
Paul
Buentello wins via TKO at 4:18 of round three.
Next
up was a fight between Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou and Renato “Babalu”
Sobral. Let’s face it: This fight would have serious repercussions
on both of these fighters’ careers. So what would happen
in a bout where both combatants desperately needed wins?
Early
on, it was clear that Sobral wanted this fight on the ground
any way he could get it there. Along with this, he went for several
takedowns early on, including pulling guard a couple of times.
However, the second time Sobral pulled his opponent to the ground
backwards, he was met by some significant attempts at ground
and pound by Sokoudjou that mostly missed (including some serious
elbows). Then Sokoudjou got up. Babalu continued to try to get
him on the canvas for a while to no avail. After a Babalu body
kick landed, the bell sounded.
That
was a close round. However, Sokoudjou’s inability to land
much in that one ground and pound scenario may have cost him
the round, particularly if the judges noticed that he missed
with most of his strikes.
Early
in the second, Sokoudjou connected with a hard right uppercut.
Then Sobral landed a combination before shooting in and gaining
the takedown.
From
there came some significant ground and pound. Finally, Sokoudjou
got to all fours despite the fact that he was looking really
fatigued, and that’s where Babalu sunk in the D’Arce
Choke.
Babalu
wins by way of D’Arce Choke at 2:36 of round two. A huge
win for the Brazilian fighter.
“I’m
ready to fight Matt for fifteen minutes,” said Vitor Belfort
before taking on Matt Lindland in the next fight of the night.
Of course, the lone question surrounding this very talented fighter
had always been about his ability to grind it out in tough fights.
So would Lindland be able to make this a tough one?
No.
Rather,
Belfort came right out and landed a huge left that dropped Lindland.
From there, he connected several more times on his opponent before
the referee stepped in. Lindland was out for some time.
Vitor
Belfort comes through with a lightning fast KO after only 37
seconds in round one. Wow!
“I
want to be the best fighter in the world, period,” said
Josh Barnett before his fight against Gilbert Yvel. Well, if
he were to defeat Yvel and then the winner of the Fedor Emelianenko
vs. Andrei Arlovski fight, that’s exactly what he would
be considered. But that’s getting ahead of things.
First,
there was Gilbert Yvel to take care of.
Early
in the fight, Yvel connected with a nice low kick. When Barnett
shot in for the single leg takedown, Yvel hit him several times
before The Babyface Assassin was able to finally take him down.
But once the fight hit the canvas, Barnett started striking furiously.
Eventually, he mounted Yvel and continued to pound away at him
with ferocity. Yvel turned sideways, continuing to take strike
after strike from his opponent. Yet somehow, Yvel managed to
get to his feet just before the bell.
Barnett
gets a two point round for that one. That said, he exerted a
lot of energy and hopefully didn’t gas himself. It was actually
somewhat surprising that the referee let the onslaught continue
through the stanza.
In
the second, Yvel came out throwing punches, landing one. But
moments later, Barnett took the fight to the canvas and started
looking for a kimura from Yvel’s half guard. When that didn’t
work, the ground and pound started until Barnett gained the full
mount. Interestingly, while in the full mount both fighters traded
blows almost evenly (Yvel from the bottom). Toward the end of
the stanza, Barnett began looking for an armbar. Unfortunately
for him, the armbar failed and Yvel ended up on top where he
landed a few nice strikes before the bell.
The
round went to Barnett, even if Yvel’s strikes from the bottom
made it reasonably close. Yvel needs a knockout to win.
Yvel
connected with a couple of shots before The Babyface Assassin
picked him up and slammed him to the canvas. He immediately mounted
him. From there came a steady stream of ground and pound before
Barnett picked up the pace. This time, as tough as Yvel had been—and
we’re talking real tough—Yvel tapped from the strikes.
It
looks like Josh Barnett will get the winner of the main event.
Josh
Barnett wins via submission (due to strikes) at 3:05 of round
three.
“He
is a human. Just a human,” said Andrei Arlovski before taking
on Fedor Emelianenko in the main event of the evening. He was
right. Still, you had to ask yourself if Fedor was a better human
when it came to fighting than anyone else.
Psyched
for this one.
Early
on, Arlovski landed a nice right hand and low kick. Fedor then
got inside and clinched with him, connecting with some nice knees
and looking for the takedown to no avail. Then Arlovski, with
his back to the ropes in the corner, started connecting with
knees inside as well.
Then
the referee split them up.
Fedor
was looking uncomfortable on his feet in this one. Along with
this, Arlovski connected with a left to the body that sent him
backwards. Then a left-right combination that sent him backwards
awkwardly. Then a left body kick that sent him into the corner.
Fedor was looking like he was in trouble. Arlovski came in for
the kill aggressively, looking for a flying knee.
That’s
when he got hit with a huge right hand from Fedor. Out cold,
people. From in trouble to the winner in seconds.
Wow!
Not pretty, but very effective. That was stunning.
Fedor
Emelianenko wins via KO at 3:14 of round one.
In
the end, Affliction: Day of Reckoning was an excellent night
of fights. The bouts between Duarte and Rios and Davis and Quach
were excellent. Josh Barnett once again proved that he was one
of the best ground fighters in the world. With one strong left
hand, Vitor Belfort proved that he was still among the best fighters
in the world against Matt Lindland. However, the night was made
in the Fedor vs. Arlovski match up. Fedor couldn’t get his
adversary to the ground. He was looking somewhat awkward on his
feet. But then came that ridiculous power of his.
One
punch knockout. Amazing.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
WEC
38 WIN MOVES FABER UP; PULVER SLIDES DOWN
Former World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight titleholder Urijah
Faber got back on track at the San Diego Sports Arena in San
Diego, Calif. Sunday night making short work of Jens Pulver at
WEC 38. The California Kid finished Pulver with a guillotine
choke just 94 seconds into the fight.
The
first time the two met in the cage at WEC 34 on June 1, 2008,
they put on a five-round war. The pace was furious in the rematch
with Faber hurting Pulver with a left-hook to the body before
finishing the fight on the ground by submission.
Faber
was coming off a loss to Mike Brown heading into the rematch
with Pulver and hopes the win will result in him getting a title
shot against the winner of Mike Brown and Leonard Garcia, who
will fight on March 1 at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi,
Texas.
"I
think I made a statement," said Faber following the fight.
"It's no secret that I'm going to try my best to get that
rematch. I want that belt man. Give me my belt."
For
Pulver, the loss marked the first time in his 34-fight career
that he's lost three fights in a row. Asked if he was still relevant
in his post-fight interview, an emotional Pulver said, "I'm
starting to wonder that myself. I hope. I'm training. I want
to win bad. I love to fight.
"Right
now I'm just feeling like a really old 34-year-old man,"
added Pulver. "But I'm not done. I'm not done."
Source: MMA Weekly
|
VARNER
WINS SPLIT OVER COWBOY TO RETAIN TITLE
Through four rounds, WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner and
No. 1 contender Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone went to war,
just like everyone in attendance in San Diego and everyone watching
at home expected out of the two 155-pound warriors.
Unfortunately,
it was an accidental knee strike in the fifth round that brought
about the end of the fight. Varner kept his title via split decision,
and both competitors promised another go round if the WEC would
make it happen.
The
early going saw Varner get the advantage first, working hard
to get Cerrone to the ground, and unloading a vicious attack
on the top lightweight contender. The defending champion opened
up a barrage of elbows and punches while Cerrone tried to keep
his guard strong, fending Varner off long enough to regain position.
In
the second round, Cerrone marched forward in methodical style,
stalking the champion around the cage. Varner was content to
counter punch, and land a couple of good takedowns in the five-minute
session. With time running out, Varner got another takedown,
but Cerrone countered with a triangle choke just as the round
expired.
Varner
picked up the pace in the third round with a strong stand-up
attack, landing good combinations and actually opening two cuts
on Cerrone's head that saw him favoring his eyes, and wiping
the blood away. The champion did manage to get the fight to the
ground at one point and lock on a guillotine, but Cerrone fought
out of the position and kept the round going.
After
a furious pace in the first three rounds, both Varner and Cerrone
slowed in the fourth as they stalk each other around the cage.
The lightweight titleholder eventually scored a takedown and
worked a ground attack. After a stand-up and some loose striking
between the two, Varner again took Cerrone down, and landed a
few elbows before the round finished.
It
was the fifth and final round that saw an ending to the war between
Varner and Cerrone, but not the finish that fans were hoping
for. As they scrambled on the ground, Cerrone pulled away and
tried to time a knee strike to Varner, as he also started to
get up from the ground, but unfortunately the champion's knees
were still on the mat.
A
grazing knee strike flew across Varner's head. The champion fell
to his face on the canvas and referee Josh Rosenthal stepped
in to pause the action for the illegal strike to a downed opponent.
The Arizona native struggled to gain any stability while lying
on the mat, Cerrone pacing on the other side of the cage dealing
with the angst of the situation.
With
Varner having vision problems after the knee strike, the referee
called a stop to the fight. Under California State Athletic Commission
rules, due to the illegal knee being declared unintentional,
the judges' scorecards were called into play.
Two
judges saw the fight 49-46 for the lightweight champion, while
judge Alejandro Rochin scored the bout 48-47 for Cerrone. The
split decision went to the reigning and defending champion, Jamie
Varner.
With
the decision rendered, the crowd in San Diego quickly turned
against the champion when he took to the microphone, obviously
disappointed with the stoppage after an absolute war between
two great fighters.
"I'm
better than that guys, I'm really sorry," Varner said with
emotion to the crowd after the fight. "I broke my hand in
the second or third round, and I took a knee or a kick to the
head on the ground. Boo me, go ahead and (expletive) boo me."
At
the post-fight press conference, MMAWeekly.com learned that Varner
had actually broken both his hand and his foot.
"Donald,
I'm sorry," he continued. "I'm better than that, you've
seen me fight before. I'm better than that."
While
obviously not happy with the loss, Cerrone said that after the
third round and the aforementioned strikes that cut him open
near his eyes, he experienced double vision and actually had
to close his eye to keep going at points.
"I
wish I could have gone harder, but my hat's off to the guy,"
Cerrone said after the scorecards were read. "Hopefully
he'll give me another shot, if not I'll go to the end and work
my way back up."
After
four hard fought rounds on their way through a fifth, the lightweight
champion graciously took to the mic again proclaiming that the
"Cowboy" has already earned another shot at his 155-pound
crown.
"We're
going to do this again," Varner promised Cerrone as the
show ended.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Minotouro:
Bitetti talks of win
Brazilian fought according to plan
Rogerio
Minotouro’s triumph this Saturday evening of January 24,
at Affliction 2, brought joy back to Minotauro Team. Rodrigo
Minotauro’s loss at the end of 2008 put the team on red
alert and Minotouro’s fight was faced with care by the whole
team. His performance at Affliction showed their strategy was
the right one and that the work done by the coaching staff was
carried out properly.
“It
was a joint venture, hard work. He was confident in defending
the takedowns due to his training with [Rodrigo] Artilheiro,
he was confident on the ground from working with me, and in muay
thai and boxing from his work with Luiz Alvez and Dorea, who
did great work. If one listens to the coaches and there’s
such good team work, it’s hard not for things not to work
out,” Jiu-Jitsu coach Amaury Bitetti commented.
“He
fought really well, according to what we practiced. He avoided
Matyushenko’s cross and his going in on his waist and legs,
positions he’s really good at. So we annulled the adversary’s
game. If it had gone to the ground we had a good sweep thing
going and, if he’d end up on top, we were ready to not give
him any room. You could see that, right after he knocked him
out, he was already ready to pounce,” he analyzed.
Used
to working with the biggest events on the planet, like the UFC,
Sengoku and the WEC, Amaury approved of the second Affliction
show.
“The
event was really good. When it got to the main events, it filled
up and the quality of the fighters and bouts was first rate,”
he said in finishing.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Thales
training with Ryan Bader for Silva
Most
of the athletes who fight MMA dreams with a belt in a great organization
and, at April 18th, when the UFC arrives at Canada, Thales Leites
will have the greatest chance of his life. The fight Anderson
Silva, announced in first hand by TATAME.com. is considered for
Thales the most importante of his life.
Therefore,
the BJJ black belt didn’t lose time and went to Arizona,
United States, to work his Boxing and Wrestling in his friend
Gustavo Dantas’ academy. “The training here are great.
Everybody here is good. I’m training everyday, emphasizing
the Boxing and Wrestling part, where they are very good",
said Thales, who is counting with the TUF 8 champion, Ryan Bader’s
help and also the UFC fighter CB Dollaway. “Jaime Warner,
Steve, Simpson and Carlos Condit, all WEC fighters, are helping
me too. Steve is a wrestling coach and is very good teaching
at a school here in Arizona”, completed Leites.
Source: Tatame
|
Quote
of the Day
“Patience
has its limits. Take it too far, and it's cowardice.”
George Jackson
|
CARRYING
THE WEIGHT OF LOSS, ARLOVSKI REFLECTS
"(Andrei
Arlovski) was winning the fight handily I thought, controlling
the fight like we planned," assessed Arlovski's boxing trainer,
Freddie Roach. "He got a little cocky, and he tried the
flying knee from too far away, no setup, and he paid for it.
"Fedor
swings hard, that's his thing. He probably had his eye closed,
but he just got lucky, I think," he continued. "If
we had followed a more disciplined fight, and kept to the game
plan, I think it was going to be easy."
That
may be simplifying Fedor Emelianenko's abilities just a tad,
but Roach's assessment is not all that distorted by the fighter-colored
goggles of a trainer.
Arlovski
was doing well up until the point that Fedor struck back with
a bone-crushing right hand. He had the WAMMA champion moving
backwards and as flustered as we've ever seen him.
Fedor
didn't become regarded as the top heavyweight fighter in the
world for no reason, however. He's been in tough positions before.
Perhaps more than anything, Fedor is a master of capitalizing
on that one little lapse in judgment, that sliver of an opening
that can change the outcome of the fight, as he did on Saturday
night.
Arlovski
would likely agree, believing that it was his approach, his lapse
in judgment that was his downfall against the greatest heavyweight
fighter on the planet. It wasn't just the momentary lapse during
the fight – deciding to throw the flying knee when he didn't
need to – that Arlovski identified in talking with MMAWeekly.com
after the fight.
"I
just talk to my trainers about the fight and they tell me just
need to be more disciplined. I think it is a problem for me,"
said Arlovski, the grief apparent in his quiet demeanor.
"I
think it was the reason I lost my fight against Fedor tonight."
Staring
straight into the camera, he didn't throw the blame at his trainers
for not finding a way to get him focused.
"I
can blame only on myself," Arlovski said with the full weight
of the loss reflected in his watery eyes.
"I
saw all my punches landed in right place. I don't know why it
was idea was in my head to do flying knee... He just cocked his
right hand and one thing about Fedor, his punch all the time
is very accurate and he caught me on my jaw."
Relaying
that he has been reminded time and again to stay focused, Arlovski
says he continually put off the request of his coaches, believing
there was always more time, always another day. But on Saturday
night, time ran out, and he was left only to reassess.
"My
trainers, they told me, do everything 100 percent. Not from one
trainer, all of my trainers. Everyone had told me I have to be
100 percent disciplined and I have to be 100 percent disciplined
about everything, about training, about life, about, like, I
have to keep clear my head."
It
took Fedor Emelianenko's crushing right hand to drive the point
home, but alone with his thoughts the point was one that was
not lost on Arlovski.
"I
think it's another lesson for me, and 100 percent, I will take
lesson from my loss tonight to Emelianenko."
Source: MMA Weekly
|
WEC
38 RESULTS, LIVE PLAY-BY-PLAY & PHOTOS
WEC 38 takes place Sunday night at the San Diego Sports Arena
in San Diego, Calif. MMAWeekly.com is on location bringing you
live results, play-by-play, and photos of all the action from
the night's fights.
The
main event features WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner looking
to defend his title from challenger Donald "Cowboy"
Cerrone. The co-main event features a rematch between former
featherweight kingpin Urijah Faber and former UFC lightweight
champion Jens Pulver.
For
the latest results, play-by-play, and photos, refresh your browser
frequently.
The
first preliminary bout is scheduled to being at approximately
3:45 p.m. PT / 6:45 p.m. ET, with the main card also televised
on Versus at 6:30 p.m. PT / 9:30 p.m. ET.
PLAY-BY-PLAY:
Jaime
Varner vs. Donald Cerrone
R1:
Both fighters start the fight cautious, neither wanting to make
a mistake. They finally exchange and both land their shots. Varner
lands an overhand right that hurts Cerrone and follows it up
with another as Cerrone falls to his back. Varner is in Cerrone's
guard as Cerrone is looking for a triangle choke. Varner gets
lose and drops some bombs and Cerrone ties him up. Varner gets
loose again and starts dropping some serious punches but Cerrone
is still in it. A large lump has developed on Cerrone's forehead
as the pace slows a bit. Varner drops some more bomb and Cerrone
is able to get to his feet. They trade combinations and end the
round stalking one another.
MMAWeekly
scores the round 10-9 for Varner.
R2:
They stalk each other for a bit before Varner gets a takedown.
Varner drops some strikes before Cerrone gets back to his feet.
Cerrone throws a combination that Varner ducks. Cerrone being
the aggressor on the feet but throws a kick that Varner catches
and gets taken down. Varner again landing some effective ground
and pound but Cerrone gets back to his feet. Cerrone stalking
Varner as he throws a jab. Both fighters are picking their spots
now, not wanting to make a mistake. They trade flurries as neither
connect anything significant. Varner takes the fight down and
Cerrone locks on a triangle choke as the round comes to the end.
MMAWeekly
scores the round 10-9 for Varner.
R3:
The fighters hug to start the third round as the fight's pace
has slowed down. Both fighters continue to cautious as they pick
their spots. Varner lands a big overhand left that hurts Cerrone.
He follows it with a flurry then a takedown. Varner goes for
a guillotine choke and falls back but Cerrone escapes back to
his feet. The fighters are cautious again on the feet. Cerrone
is starting to bleed from his left side of the face. Varner lands
a nice one-two combination. They trade blows but neither landing
much. varner gets a takedown but doesn't do much as the round
ends.
MMAWeekly
scores the fight 10-9 for Varner.
R4:
Cerrone's faces is swollen as the fighters trade blows to start
the round. The pace of the fight has slowed down with both fighters
picking their spots. Cerrone is being the aggressor but not by
much. Varner misses a combination and Cerrone misses a kick.
Neither fighter is landing anything of significance as Varner
takes the fight down. Varner is picking his spots on the ground
as Cerrone has a loose guard. The crowd begins to get restless
as not much is happening. They are stood back up on the feet
but Varner takes the fight down again. He lands a couple of shots
but the fight slows down again. Varner into half guard as he
lands some elbows to end the round.
MMAWeekly
scores the round 10-9 for Varner.
R5-
They are cautious to start the round as Varner takes the fight
to the ground. Varner lands some shots but Cerrone gets back
to his feet. Cerrone takes the fight to the ground. Varner gets
to his knees but is hit with an illegal knee, which prompts a
stoppage of action. Varner is hurt bad and the fight is waived
off because he can't continue. The knee is ruled unintentional
and the fight will go to the judge's scorecards.
Jamie
Varner def. Donald Cerrone by Split Decision (49-46, 47-48, 49-46).
Urijah
Faber vs. Jens Pulver
R1:
Faber charges in with a push kick. They both throw kicks and
Faber falls to his back but he gets back up. Faber goes for a
takedown and gets it but Pulver gets back up. Faber lands a big
left to the body that hurts Pulver and he follows with another.
Faber going for the kill with punches and knees as Pulver drops
to his knees. Faber lands a couple of punches but then locks
on a guillotine choke that forces Pulver to tap.
Urijah
Faber def. Jens Pulver by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 1:34,
R1.
Danillo
Villefort vs. Mike Campbell
R1:
Campbell throws a kick to start the fight. Villefort returns
the favor with a kick of his own. Villefort lands a nice jab
but Campbell charges in and gets a takedown. He picks up Villefort
and slams him, who goes for a leg lock. After some struggling
Campbell escapes and gets back to his feet. Campbell drops Villefort
with a punch and goes for a leg lock. Villefort is able to get
on top. Campbell gets to his feet and Villefort misses a huge
high kick. Villefort takes Campbell down and mounts him, dropping
punches. Campbell gives up his back and is getting peppered with
punches but nothing too hard. Campbell is not defending at all
as Villefort continues to land punches, forcing the referee to
stop the fight.
Danillo
Villefort def. Mike Campbell by TKO at 3:55, R1.
Jose
Aldo vs. Rolando Perez
R1:
They come out swinging and Aldo lands a hard low kick. They start
to stock one another with Aldo pressuring with a jab. Aldo goes
for a spinning back kick that misses as he starts to open up
a bit. Neither fighter is landing anything but Aldo is being
the aggressor. Perez is staring to get more comfortable as he
starts to land some strikes. Aldo charges in with a combination
but Perez returns fire. Aldo drops Perez with a huge knee and
pounces with lighting quick punches, forcing the referee to stop
the fight.
Jose
Aldo def. Rolando Perez by TKO at 4:15, R1.
Anthony
Njokuani vs. Benson Henderson
R1:
Both fighters come out cautious as they test the distance. Henderson
lands a low kick as Njokani starts to stalk him. Henderson goes
for the takedown and gets it, getting Njokuani's back but he
is unable to secure the choke as Njokuani gets back to his feet.
Henderson gets another takedown with same result. Njokuani goes
for an armbar but Henderson is narrowly able to get out. Henderson
goes for a heel hook but Njokuani escapes to his feet. Henderson
gets a takedown as Njokuani tries to get back up but Henderson
puts him down again. Njokuani gets up and Henderson drops down
for a takedown and picks Njokuani for a slam. The two exchange
positions on the ground as the round comes to an end. Close round.
MMAWeekly
scores the round 10-9 for Henderson.
R2:
Njokuani charges in with a combination and Henderson ducks for
a takedown and gets it. Njokuani reverses but gets caught in
a guillotine choke by Henderson, which forces him to tap.
Benson
Henderson def. Anthony Njokuani by Submission (Guillotine Choke)
at 0:42, R2.
Hiromitsu
Miura vs. Edgar Garcia
R1:
Both the fighters start the fight by stalking each other. Miura
landing some nice punches as Garcia starts to settle into the
fight. Garcia drops Miura and is dropping some big bombs. Miura
grabs a leg but is still getting lit up with punches as the referee
has to come in and stop the fight.
Edgar
Garcia def. Hiromitsu Miura by TKO at 1:18, R1.
Dominick
Cruz vs. Ian McCall
R1:
McCall charges in but Cruz lands an uppercut. They start to circle
and McCall is the aggressor, landing some kicks before getting
a takedown. Cruz gets back to his feet and they clinch for a
bit before seperating. They trade start to trade some flurries
with both fighters landing some. McCall's left eye is swelling
as Cruz lands a overhand right that drops McCall but McCall gets
right back up. These two are just swinging for the fences as
they both are landing strikes. Cruz is getting the better of
the exchanges as he lands a jab then a high kick. The fight slows
a bit but Cruz is stalking McCall as he charges in. McCall falls
to the ground and as he gets up Cruz lands a solid one-two combination
just as the round ends. Exciting round.
MMAWeekly
scores the round 10-9 for Cruz
R2:
Cruz still being the aggressor as he is landing much more then
McCall. McCall throws a hook but is countered by Cruz with a
hook of his own. The pace is slowing as the two fighters trade
flurries. McCall charges in with a combination as they clinch
along the fence. They seperate and Cruz begins to stalk McCall.
Cruz landing some nice body kicks as McCall tries to respond
with no success. Cruz lands a high kick and McCall's left eye
is starting to swell pretty badly. Cruz s just out striking McCall,
who has no response for Cruz. The two fighters trade shots as
the round comes to an end.
MMAWeekly
scores the round 10-9 for Cruz.
R3:
Cruz again is simply out striking McCall. Every time that McCall
charges in, Cruz responds with a hard flurry of punches and kicks.
McCall catches a kick from Cruz, goes for the takedown but is
denied. McCall lands a nice flurry then back outs. McCall being
the aggressor in the round as he lands another flurry. Cruz starts
to take control of the fight again as he lands almost at will.
McCall gets a takedown but Cruz gets right back up. Cruz again
lands a flurry as McCall charges in for a takedown but is stopped.
Cruz is picking his shots as the fight enters its final minute.
McCall goes for another unsuccessful takedown. Cruz is stalking
McCall and lands a couple of shots as the fight comes to an end.
MMAWeekly
scores the round 10-9 for Cruz and the fight 30-27 for Cruz.
Dominick
Cruz def. Ian McCall by Unanimous Decision (All three judges
score the fight 30-27).
Scott
Jorgensen vs. Frank Gomez
R1:
Gomez throws a kick to start the fight. Jorgensen goes for a
takedow but instead gets a guillotine choke but Gomez escapes.
Jorgensen goes for another guillotine choke and cranks this one
which forces Gomez to tap.
Scott
Jorgensen def. Frank Gomez by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at
1:09, R1.
Blas
Avena vs. Jesse Lennox
R1:
Both fighters come out aggressive, landing an array of strikes.
Avena gets the plum and lands some knees as Lennox lands some
punches. Avena takes him down and goes for a submission but Lennox
escapes to top as Avena goes for an armbar. Lennox escapes and
starts dropping elbows in side mount. Not much action happening
as Lennox is content to stay on top. He finally starts to drop
some strikes before getting into mount. Avena escapes and starts
to drop some bombs on Lennox. Avena working Lennox over with
strikes as the round comes to an end. Close round but MMAWeekly
scores the round 10-9 for Avena.
R2:
Lennox comes out swinging and he hurts Avena with a flurry, Avena
tries to return fire but Lennox has him dazed. Lennox starts
to unload on Avena with hard flurries as the referee finally
saves Avena from further punishment.
Jesse
Lennox def. Blas Avena by TKO at 0:41, R2.
Charlie
Valencia vs. Seth Dikun
R1:
Valencia comes out the aggressor with low kicks and punches.
He lands a nice body kick as Dikun circles around. Not much action
until Valencia goes for a takedown that Dikun defends well. Valencia
lands a nice body shot and Dikun starts to let loose, throwing
a flying knee that sees him getting taken down. Dikun gets back
up and Valencia light him up with a combination and picks him
up for a slam. Dikun going for an omoplata that Valencia escapes
and then transitions to a heel hook that Valencia escapes. They
get back to their feet and both are throwing strikes but neither
finding success. They end the round stalking each other.
MMAWeekly
scores the round 10-9 for Valencia.
R2:
Valencia lands a low kick and Dikun responds with a flurry. Dikun
landing body kicks as Valencia charges in with a flurry and takes
Dikun down. Dikun has Valencia in rubber guard but is able to
get to his knees before Valencia goes for a guillotine choke.
Dikun gets Valencia back in guard and Valencia begins to land
some ground and pound. Valencia lands a nice flurry of strikes
as Dikun ties him up. Valencia postures up and drops a couple
of bombs. The pace slows down as Dikun throws elbows from the
bottom. Dikun goes for an armbar but Valencia escapes and it
gives Dikun a chance to get up as he clinches with Valencia along
the fence. Dikun drops down for a kimura but Valencia escapes
and grabs a guillotine choke that Dikun escapes as they end the
round in guard.
MMAWeekly
scores the round 10-9 for Valencia.
R3:
Dikun comes out aggressive in the final round but is unable to
land any effective strikes. The pace slows down as both fighters
are picking their shots. Valencia lands a nice body kick and
another that lands on Dikun's arm. Valencia lands a solid overhand
right as the corwd roars. They trade a flurry with Valencia getting
the better of the exchange. Valencia lands a nice low kick that
hurts Dikun and he charges in with a flurry before taking Dikun
down. Dikun goes for a leg lock but Valencia defends well, landing
a couple of shots. Valenica goes down into Dikun's guard. Dikun
uses the fence to get to his knees but gets caught in a guillotine
choke that he escapes. Dikun going for an armbar but Valencia
escapes and starts dropping elbows from side mount. Valencia
mounts Dikun and starts dropping hard elbows as the fight comes
to an end.
MMAWeekly
scores the round 10-9 for Valencia and the fight 30-27 for Valencia.
Charlie
Valencia def. Seth Dikun by Unanimous Decision (All three judges
score the fight 30-27).
QUICK
RESULTS:
Main
Card Bouts:
-Jamie Varner def. Donald Cerrone by Split Decision (49-46, 47-48,
49-46).
-Urijah Faber def. Jens Pulver by Submission (Guillotine Choke)
at 1:34, R1.
-Danillo Villefort def. Mike Campbell by TKO at 3:55, R1.
-Jose Aldo def. Rolando Perez by TKO at 4:15, R1.
Preliminary
Bouts:
-Benson Henderson def. Anthony Njokuani by Submission (Guillotine
Choke) at 0:42, R2.
-Edgar Garcia def. Hiromitsu Miura by TKO at 1:18, R1.
-Dominick Cruz def. Ian McCall by Unanimous Decision (All three
judges score the fight 30-27).
-Scott Jorgensen def. Frank Gomez by Submission (Guillotine Choke)
at 1:09, R1.
-Jesse Lennox def. Blas Avena by TKO at 0:41, R2.
-Charlie Valencia def. Seth Dikun by Unanimous Decision (All
three judges score the fight 30-27).
Source: MMA Weekly
|
ALDO
LIGHTS UP WEC 38 UNDERCARD WITH KO
In a clear case of technique over brute force, 25-year-old Danillo
Villefort used slick ground skills to hand former powerlifter
Mike Campbell his first professional loss at WEC 38 on Sunday
night in San Diego, Calif.
Campbell,
26, bounced his way into an early takedown after catching a Villefort
kick. But when he picked the American Top Team member up, he
found himself entwined in a standing oma plata. A subsequent
slam merely put him on the defensive, as Villefort transitioned
to a leg lock, then a kneebar.
Power
allowed Campbell to escape, but he ate a knee up the middle as
he shot back in. When he finished his subsequent takedown attempt,
Villefort was waiting with an armbar. This time, Villefort used
the submission to reverse and take mount.
It
only took a few elbows to force Campbell to give up his back.
When he failed to respond to referee Josh Rosenthal as Villefort
rained down punches, the fight was called at 3:53 of the first.
Jose
Aldo improved his record to 13-1 with an impressive first round
TKO victory over Rolando Perez.
The
two lightweights waged a highly technical war on their feet.
The 22-year-old Aldo was the clear aggressor, first softening
Perez’s lead leg with kicks.
Perez,
24, would not go quietly, though. As Aldo closed the distance,
he fired crisp punch combinations.
Two
body shots, a punch and kick, gave the Brazilian brief pause.
But a stiff jab opened a cut on the bridge of Perez’s nose,
and hastened his backward movement.
In
the final minute of the first round, Perez leaned into a jab
to the body, where Aldo was waiting with a knee. The shot slammed
into Perez’s jaw, knocking him on his rear end.
Aldo
followed the San Diego resident to the canvas, where he landed
a short flurry of punches for good measure. At 4:15, it was all
over.
Almost
as quickly as the referee saved Perez, Aldo bounded into the
stands, coming to celebrate with fans near the top of the arena.
Lightweight
Benson Henderson used an early reversal by Anthony Njokuani to
secure a guillotine choke early in the second round.
Welterweight
Hiromitsua Miura was caught at the end of an early punching flurry
at the hands of Edgar Garcia. Garcia needed only 78 seconds to
pound the tough Japanese veteran out.
Featherweight
Dominic Cruz edged fellow Total Combat veteran Ian McCall in
points after a three-round battle.
Bantamweight
Scott Jorgensen caught Frank Gomez in a nasty reverse guillotine
early in the first round, coaxing a tapout in 69 seconds.
Welterweight
Jesse Lennox caught Blas Avena with a flurry of strikes in the
early moments of the second round, netting a TKO victory at 0:41
of the second round.
Bantamweight
Charlie Valencia got back in the win column for the WEC, fighting
his way to a three-round decision over Seth Dikun.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
M-1
Global reaches Brazil
Brazilian debut to be against USA
The
Russian M-1 Global Group, one of the biggest MMA promotion companies
in the world and holder of Fedor Emelianenko’s contract,
arrives in Brazil after a year of negotiations. The event is
to hit six countries divided in four groups. Through the partnership
joining the company’s executives with Naja Extreme, Brazilian
fightwear company, owners Eduardo Grimaldi and Fernando Navarro,
the event will include a stage in Brazil, set to take place May
9, in Sao Paulo.
“M-1
is a worldwide championship encompassing 16 companies divided
into four brackets, in which each bracket will have four teams.
The winners of each bracket, who will face each other over eight
months in different countries, will dispute an October semifinal,
in Russia, and the grand finale and third-place dispute will
occur in November, also in Russia,” explained Eduardo.
Each
team will be composed of one captain and five starting athletes,
who will be divided into the 70kg, 76kg, 84kg, 93kg and over
93kg categories, and five alternate athletes.
“The
Brazilian team has already been put together, we’re in the
final phase of negotiations and I believe by the end of the month
we’ll already announce their names,” said Fernando.
The Brazil team’s captain with be Jiu-Jitsu and muay thai
black belt Carlao Barreto. Brazil team, which is in Group B with
the USA, Korea and Russia, will first face the United States
on February 21, in the United States.
“Carlao
Barreto was an excellent choice as captain, since he is very
patriotic and I’m sure he’ll fight along with everyone
else on the team for victory. We’re very proud to be able
to bring Brazil into this great worldwide event. Our country
is a great producer of MMA fighters and our having a great event,
of global proportions, like this is long overdue. Just like Formula
1’s Interlagos stage bringing us great joy, now we will
also have M-1, which will bring us great joy in MMA,” celebrated
Eduardo.
Check
out the 2009 M-1 Global schedule and the teams that will participate
in the show:
Groups:
A - France, Japan, Spain and UK
B – United States 1, Brazil, Korea and Russia
C - Bulgaria, Finland, United States 2 and Benelux
D - Russian Legion, World Team, Turkey/ NL e Germany
Cronograma:
21 February, 2009
Seattle, USA
- USA 1 to face Brazil;
- RedDevil to face Korea;
- Finland to face Benelux;
March 21, 2009
Sofia, Bulgaria
- Bulgaria to face USA 2;
- Russian Legion to face World Team;
- Turkey / NL to face Germany;
April 25, 2009
Tokyo, Japan
- France to face Spain;
- Japan to face UK;
- USA 1 to face Korea;
May 9, 2009
São Paulo, Brazil
- Brazil to face RedDevil;
- Bulgaria to face Benelux;
- Russian Legion to face Germany;
June 6, 2009
Kansas City, United States
- USA 2 to face Finland;
- World Team to face Turkey / NL;
- France to face UK;
July 4, 2009
Seoul, Korea
- Bulgaria to face Finland;
- USA 1 to face RedDevil;
- Brazil to face Korea;
August 8, 2009
Spain
- Spain to face Japan ;
- USA 2 to face Benelux;
- Russian Legion to face Turkey / NL;
September 5, 2009
UK
- World Team to face Germany;
- France to face Japan;
- Spain to face UK;
October, 2009
St. Petersburg, Russia
- Group A winner to face Group C winner;
- Group B winner to face Group D winner;
- Superfight;
November, 2009
Russia
- Third place dispute;
- Superfight;
- M-1 Challenge Final.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
A
chat with Jorge Santiago
Fighter talks about winning phase
On
an impressive nine-fight winning streak, Jorge Santiago is the
holder of three belts: Strikeforce, the Sengoku middleweight
GP and the Sengoku middleweight category. His recent success
came after a stint in the UFC that wasn’t quite as good
as the phase the American Top Team representative is seeing now.
Happy with his performance in Japan, Santiago spoke with Portal
das Lutas about his career. Check it out:
Portal
das Lutas – Comment on this moment in your career, with
your three belts.
Jorge
Santiago – Thank God I’m having a great phase. After
the Strikeforce belt, I kept on working and the opportunity to
fight in Japan came about, which is a place where I always dreamed
of fighting. I went to battle and worked my way to winning the
two belts. I did my first tournament, now at the beginning of
2009 I had a title dispute against Kazuo Misaki and managed to,
after a major battle, finish him in the end.
PDL
– And so how is your career going now? Will you only be
appearing in Japan or is there a chance you may fight in the
United States?
JS
– I’m just in Japan now and I should stay there for
a while, despite my renewing my contract now. But Japan doesn’t
keep me from fighting in other places. My contract is not exclusive,
so I can fight at Strikeforce again if the opportunity should
arise. Only the UFC demands exclusivity. For the time being I’ll
stick around Japan, we’re doing good work together. If in
the future something better comes up, I’ll make my way.
PDL
– Leaving the UFC tends to not be good for most folks, but
in your case it turned out for the best.
JS
– Folks are under the illusion that the UFC is everything,
but that’s not true. I don’t believe the UFC is the
solution for everyone. There are many paths one can take.
PDL
– The UFC and US MMA are growing a lot. What does fighting
in Japan mean to you?
JS
– I’ll say the UFC has more exposure, since it’s
seen by the whole world, everyone watches it. It’s expanding
a great deal over there, but there are certainly other events
where you can make a living and move along in your career. The
UFC is everyone’s dream. Ever since I started, I’d
seen Royce fighting there, you know. But I managed to fulfill
a greater dream of mine, which was to fight in Japan, where I
saw Minotauro and Wanderlei fighting. I think everyone has their
place, there are lots of events popping up with big-name fighters.
PDL
– When will you fight next?
JS
– I expect to fight in April. They are hiring new fighters,
it seems Akiyama (Yoshihiro) will be there now. So I’m waiting,
we’re discussing my contract for me to be able to fight.
I expect it to be in April, but I’m not sure about that
yet.
PDL
– When does your vacation here in Brazil end?
JS
– Next week I’ll head back to the United States, where
I’ll be training for whatever opportunities arise.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Jamie
Varner: I would love to fight BJ Penn
WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner wants a shot at greatness
and would be open to a unified championship fight with UFC lightweight
champion BJ Penn.
Varner
makes his second WEC lightweight title defense on Sunday against
Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone at WEC 38 in San Diego, California.
"Right
now I got to beat Donald," Varner said on Thursday. "Would
I like to fight the world champion in the UFC, BJ Penn? Yeah.
Donald would want to fight him too. No lightweight would turn
down that fight just because we want a shot at greatness. We
want a shot to be the best, and every opportunity that we get,
we're going to take it and we're going to try to make the most
of it. So yeah this is great and I would love to fight the world
champion in the UFC, but right now I got Donald Cerrone."
Both
promotions are owned by the same company so while unlikely, it's
entirely possible.
Varner
won the WEC belt from "Razor" Rob McCullough in February
2008 and last August successfully defended the belt against Marcus
Hicks via TKO.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Top
5 Fight Camps of 2008
First
off, anytime you write a list, it’s important to put in
some criteria. So here goes. The number of strong MMA fighters
does matter, even if quality is more important in any specific
situation. In other words, the fact that ATT has a ton of fighters
helps their cause some. Further, this is not a list of the top
MMA teams of all-time. If it were, then Miletich Fighting Systems
would be in there somewhere, if not at the top of the list. Rather,
this is just a list of the teams that had the best year in 2008.
Finally, teams that moved around a lot and changed names were
hurt just by the inconsistency of it all.
And
away we go!
Honorable
Mention-- Sityodtong: It’s hard to have a better year than
Kenny Florian had. After all, he went 3-0 with victories over
Joe Lauzon, Joe Stevenson, and Roger Huerta. Marcus Taylor also
went 2-1, as did Patrick Cote. They’re hurt by their relative
lack of numbers. But no one can question the quality and consistency
of their team.
5.
Team Nogueira/ Black House/ Whomever Else: Think about it: Antonio
Rodrigo Nogueira went 1-1 with a huge victory over Tim Sylvia
and loss to Frank Mir. His brother won three fights in 2008.
Anderson Silva. . . Well, you know. Then there was Lyoto Machida,
who was a part of Black House—yep, undefeated still.
On
top of that, Junior dos Santos emerged with a huge KO victory
over Fabricio Werdum. This was a good year for a team moved around
some, changed names, and was overall difficult to track, which
hurt them. In fact, they kind of represent the changing of the
MMA guard—guys who train together as well as at other facilities
on a regular basis. But if this team becomes consistently together
and trackable in the future, watch out!
4.
AKA: AKA is as solid a team as you’re going to find. Further,
they put in a strong showing in 2008. Josh Thomson went 2-0 and
shocked the world with an upset victory over Gilbert Melendez
to take the Strikeforce Lightweight Championship. Mike Swick
has a big year, defeating Josh Burkman, Jonathan Goulet, and
Marcus Davis. Josh Koscheck was very busy on the year, going
3-1, with his lone loss coming at the hands of Thiago Alves.
Jon Fitch split on the year, losing to Georges St. Pierre in
a UFC Welterweight Championship bout.
Lots
of good fighters. The future looks bright for AKA, for sure.
3.
Xtreme Couture: Randy Couture’s gym in Las Vegas has been
branching out for sure and doing very well. Despite Couture’s
loss to Brock Lesnar, several fighters helped their cause, including
Gina Carano (two victories), Forrest Griffin (went 1-1 with a
win over Rampage and loss to Rashad Evans), Tyson Griffin (went
2-1 against UFC competition), Jay Hieron (2-0), Gray Maynard
(three big victories, including wins over Frankie Edgar and Rich
Clementi), and more. In terms of the sheer number of excellent
fighters in their stable, Xtreme Couture is up there with the
best of them. But their lack of a dominant male champion in the
present made it hard to call them the best fighting camp of 2008.
2.
American Top Team: American Top Team, in terms of their sheer
number of solid MMA fighters, is only rivaled by Xtreme Couture.
Along with this, some of their competitors had outstanding years,
such as Thiago Alves (defeating Matt Hughes, Josh Koscheck, and
Karo Parisyan qualifies as great year, no?) and Mike Thomas Brown
(went undefeated and knocked out Urijah Faber). Beyond that,
also working with the team are fighters like Wilson Gouveia,
Jorge Santiago, Antonio Silva, and more.
Their
sheer numbers plus the years that Brown and Alves had catapulted
them to this spot in the 2008 rankings.
1.
Jackson’s Submission Fighting: This is kind of a no-brainer
at the moment. Greg Jackson’s Submission Fighting Camp shot
into the public eye when Diego Sanchez, formerly of the team,
won the TUF 1 Championship in rather dominant style. But that’s
not what this ranking is about.
This
one’s about 2008.
This
past year, George St. Pierre continued his dominance of the UFC
welterweight division by defeating Jon Fitch and Matt Serra in
rather clear fashion. Teammate Rashad Evans proved his mettle
by stopping Chuck Liddell in what could be construed as the knockout
of the year, before taking the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
from Forrest Griffin, via stoppage, later in the year.
Sure,
Keith Jardine had a tough fight against Wanderlei Silva before
rebounding against Brandon Vera. That said, Joey Villasenor KO’d
both Ryan Jensen and Phil Baroni, and Nate Marquardt stopped
both Jeremy Horn and Martin Kampmann. Though he lost to Thales
Leites, without some point deductions that fight would’ve
clearly been his as well.
Jackson’s
had a great 2008. Let’s see if they can repeat the performance
in 2009.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Quote
of the Day
"You
have to recognize when the right place and the right time fuse
and take advantage of that opportunity. There are plenty of opportunities
out there. You can't sit back and wait."
Ellen Metcalf
|
WEC
Today!
The WEC returns the day after Affliction "Day of Reckoning"
for its first event of 2009, happening at the San Diego Sports
Arena in San Diego, California.
In the main event, Jamie Varner makes his second WEC lightweight
title defense taking on Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone in
the main event. Also, Urijah Faber will look to bounce back from
his featherweight title loss when he rematches Jens Pulver.
The
event airs live on Versus at 9:30 p.m. ET.
Fight
Card:
Televised
Bouts
Jamie
Varner vs. Donald Cerrone
Urijah Faber vs. Jens Pulver
Danillo Villefort vs. Mike Campbell
Jose Aldo vs. Rolando Perez
Preliminary Bouts
Ben
Henderson vs. Anthony Njokuani
Edgar Garcia vs. Hiromitsu Miura
Dominick Cruz vs. Ian McCall
Scott Jorgenson vs. Frank Gomez
Blas Avena vs. Jesse Lennox
Charlie Valencia vs. Seth Dikun
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Affliction
'Day of Reckoning' Play-By-Play Results
the Honda Center in Anaheim, California
Undercard
Fight #1 - Brett Cooper (169) vs. Patrick Speight (169)
Besides
his big hair, Cooper is best known for pulling the upset over
current UFC fighter Rory Markham via second-round TKO at an IFL
event in December 2007. Speight enters this fight coming off
the first loss of his career. This is after starting his career
with seven straight wins.
R1:
They box and feel each other out for the opening minutes. Cooper
lands a combo at the 3:15 mark. Cooper works on Speight's body.
Speight lands a clean jab that opens up a cut on Cooper. Speight
shoots and Cooper defends. Cooper lands leg kicks from a Speight,
who is on his back.
R2:
They mix in kicks. Cooper with punch combos. Cooper drops Speight
with a punch to the body and enters Speight's guard. Cooper leaves
Speight's guard at 1:30 and Speight gets back to his feet. Cooper
sneaks in a right uppercut and knocks out Speight.
Official
Result: Cooper wins via TKO - R2 (4:10)
Fight
#2 - Albert Rios (145) vs. Antonio Duarte (145)
Duarte
of Mexico is on an eight-fight winning streak.
"Big"
John McCarthy is handling the referee duties. "Let's get
it on!"
R1:
Duarte with kicks. Rios shoots and finishes with a double-leg.
Duarte gets back to his feet while remaining in clinch. They
separate at 3:35. Duarte throws out jabs. He follows one with
a right and drops Rios. Duarte tries to roll for the submission
but Rios escapes. Rios drops for the double-leg and again gets
it. Rios moves to side but Duarte gets up and. They stand up
and Duarte has a guillotine. They fall to the ground and Duarte
has side control. They're back up with less than a minute left.
Rios lands a punch combo. Good first round.
R2:
They box. Rios shoots and gets the takedown at 3:12. Duarte gets
to his feet and they're back to working on strikes. The pace
is slowing. Rios shots at 0:59 and lets go of Duarte's right
leg at 0:30.
R3:
They exchange strikes. Duarte continues to work on leg kicks.
Rios strongly answers back. Rios goes for the takedown at 1:41.
Rios stuffs it. They both land strikes but nothing close to finishing.
Duarte
won the first round, Rios the second and the edge in the third
should go to Rios.
Official
Result: Rios wins via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Fight
#3 - Bao Quach (145.5) vs. LC Davis (143.75)
IFL
veteran LC Davis fights out of Miletich Fighting Systems. Quach
took this fight on short notice after Mark Hominick had to pull
out due to pneumonia.
R1:
Quach lands a kick and Davis clinches Quach defends for a while
and gets a guillotine but Davis ends up finishing the takedown.
They're back up and Davis works body shots tied up. They both
swing and miss. Davis shoots and gets the takedown. Quach rolls
for the armbar. Davis has a guillotine. Quach swings around and
survies it into side mount. Quach with elbows. Quach has full
mount at 1:14. Davis gives up his back with 33 seconds left and
Quach immediately applies the rear-naked choke. Davis survives!
R2:
Quach takes down Davis 30 seconds in. Quach has side control.
Quach motioned for the armbar but Davis quickly prevents Quach
from setting it up. Quach has full mount. Quach goes for the
armbar but can't finish and ends up in guard. Quach tries to
escape but gives up his back. Davis lands punches on a turtled
Quach. Quach stands back up with a minute left. Round two ends
with Davis landing a knee in clinch.
R3:
Davis finishes the takedown at 4:20 with Quach in guard. They
fight for position. When they stand up it's Quach who pushes
Davis down. Davis tries to stand again and Quach puts him back.
They stand up in clinch at 2:24. Davis puts Quach on his back
in guard. Davis works punches. Quach turns in and holds onto
a leg. Davis controlling Quach and will hold on for the win.
Official
Result: Davis wins via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Fight
#4 - Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (204.75) vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
(204.5)
There's
40 minutes until the pay-per-view starts so Jay Hieron vs. Jason
High will take place after the Fedor Emelianenko vs. Andrei Arlovski
main event.
R1:
They circle for the first minute-plus. Mayushenko lands a shot
to the body and Nogueira counters. Very little action in this
fight. Nogueira throws a punch and leg kick combo. Matyushenko
with a punch to the body with 30 seconds left. Nogueira lands
a knee. The crowd heavily boos the slow round.
R2:
Matyushenko catches Nogueira and stuns him. Matyushenko is cut
on his right eye. For some reason Matyushenko hasn't attempted
a takedown. Nogueira lands a nice clean knee. Noguiera chases
Matyushenko down. Matyushenko's strange strategy to stand up
backfires as Nogueira knocks out Matyushenko.
Official
Result: Nogueira wins via TKO - R2 (4:26)
Nogueira
avenges the first loss of his career.
Fight #1 - Dan Lauzon (155.5) vs. Bobby Green (155.5)
R1:
Green comes out strong. Lauzon fights back with punches. Green
is throwing everything at Lauzon. Green fights wildly, but he's
relentless. There's an accidental low kick below the belt and
Lauzon gets a breather. They restart at 3:44. Lauzon comes in
with a combo to pull Green the mat. Green has Lauzon's back and
slams him. Green hits with a knee, a punch but slips on a kick.
Lauzon jumps right on Green with a triangle choke. Green is incredibly
aggressive. They're back up at 2:30. Green hits Lauzon with a
knee and it's low. Referee Herb Dean gives Green a warning. Green
kicks Lauzon right on the groin. Green argues that was the kick
was not low. On replays, the shot was questionable. Green is
deducted a point. Lauzon tries to pull Green down into a guillotine
choke. Green with punches Lauzon goes for a heel hook. Green
lands shots but he eventually has to defend the heel hook. Green
is rolling and escapes with 34 seconds left. Lauzon immediately
takes Green's back and goes for the rear naked choke. Green taps
out.
Lauzon
wins via submission - R1 (4:55)
Fight
#2 - Paul Buentello (224) vs. Kiril "Baby Fedor" Sidelnikov
(229.5)
R1:
They're boxing with Buentello landing jabs. They clinch. Sidelnikov
already has a bump under his left eye. They're working shots
on each other in clinch. They box and Sidelnikov eats an uppercut
coming into clinch. They separate with a little over a minute
left. Buentello is outboxing Sidelnikov, who is bleeding from
that initial mouse under his left eye. They battle in clinch
to end the round.
R2:
Sidelnikov slips up on a kick and backs up to recompose himself.
Buentello does a good job avoiding Sidelnkov's offense. Buentello
stumbles a bit after a brief exchange. Sidelnikov goes for the
kill, swinging wildly and Buentello clinches. Sidelnikov shoots
at 1:35 and Buentello sprawls. Buentello rocks Sidelnikov with
a left hook. Buentello lands more jabs. Buentello lands a nice
right. Buentello is clearly outboxing Sidelnikov.
R3: Buentello works punches to the body. Sidelnikov lands a leg
kick. Buentello goes back to landing jabs to Sidelnikov's face.
Buentello lands a nice uppercut. Buentello rocks Sidelnikov back
with a right. Sidelnikov swings. Buentello tries to go for Sidelnikov's
back but eventually lets go. Buentello attacks and Sidelnikov
falls down. Sidelnikov's mouthpiece falls out. Sidelnikov looks
finished. Buentello comes in with a combo. Buentello is dominating
the fight. Sidelnikov loses his mouthpiece again. Sidelnikov
is done. Referee "Big" John McCarthy and the doctor
think so too and the fight is called off.
Buentello
wins via TKO - R3 (4:18)
Fight
#3 - Renato "Babalu" Sobral (204) vs. Rameau Thierry
Sokoudjou (205.25)
R1:
Sobral works the jab. They clinch. Sobral tried to throw Sokoudjou
down but couldn't bring him down. They are back up in clinch.
Sokoudjou with a hard kick and Sobral goes for the takedown.
Sokoudjou's body is between the ropes and they are restarted
standing. Sobral tries to toss Sokoudjou but ends up in guard.
Sokoudjou lands punches and elbows. Sobral scrambles out and
desperately goes for he takedown. Sokoudjou trips Sobral with
a judo throw. Sobral holds on for the single-leg. Sobral with
knees to Sokoudjou's leg while in clinch. They are separated
with 30 seconds left. Sobral throws a front kick.
R2:
Sokoudjou with an uppercut. Sobral lands with combo. Sokoudjou
goes down for the guillotine but Sobral's head slips out. Sobral
drops punches. Sobral lands punches. Sokoudjou's head is out
of the ropes and they're restarted int he middle of the ring.
Sobral steps to halfguard. Sobral works elbows. Sokoudjou gets
out. Sobral applies the D'arce choke and Sokoudjou taps out.
Sobral
wins via submission - R2 (2:36)
Tito
Ortiz steps out of the commentating booth to interview Sobral.
Ortiz -- probably not intended as an insult -- calls Sobral "one
of the best light-heavyweights of the night." Ortiz throws
in that once his back heals that they could hopefully fight each
other at a future Affliction event.
Fight
#4 - Matt Lindland (186) vs. Vitor Belfort (184)
R1:
Belfort glances a leg kick. Lindland lands a left but eats an
overhand and is dropped. Belfort rains down right hands and Lindland
is out cold.
Belfort
wins via KO - R1 (0:37)
Fight
#5 - Josh Barnett (248) vs. Gilbert Yvel (240)
R1:
Yvel lands a hard leg kick. Barnett takes Yvel down into halfguard.
Barnett drops right punches and forearms. Barnett goes for a
kimura but Yvel pulls out. Barnett switches back to ground and
pound. He takes side control at 1:50. Yvel scrambles out and
into halfguard. Barnett takes full mount and ground and pounds.
Yvel gives up his back. Barnett is relentless. Yvel is taking
a lot of strikes without trying to escape. Yvel stands up right
before the bell.
R2:
Yvel throws a knee and Barnett goes right into clinch. Barnett
takes Yvel down into side mount. Yvel gets halfguard. Barnett
pounds and takes full mount with three minutes left. Barnett
continues to drop forearms and punches. Yvel punches up. Barnett
tries for the armbar but the attempt allows Yvel to turn into
Barnett's guard. Yvel lands punches and Barnett's nose is bleeding.
R3:
Barnett lands a kick to the body. Barnett avoids Yvel's strikes
and takes Yvel down right away. Barnett has full mount and can
ride out the decision if he wants. Barnett picks his shots. Barnett
turns it up at 2:10 and Yvel taps out to strikes.
Barnett
wins via submission (strikes) - R3 (3:05)
Barnett
was disappointed in his own performance and says he needs to
step it up in his next fight. Barnett says he doesn't care if
he fights Arlovski or Fedor but he's rooting for Fedor because
Fedor is his friend.
Fight
#6 - Fedor Emelianenko (230) vs. Andrei Arlovski (237)
R1:
Arlovski throws a leg kick. Arlovski catches Fedor with a punch.
Arlovski throws a combo and Fedor avoids it. Arlovski with a
leg kicks. Arlovski connects again and Fedor charges with a combo.
They clinch. Arlovski tries to trip Fedor but Fedor defends.The
ref restarts them at 2:30. Arlovski lands a leg kick. Arlovski
lands a combo. Arlovski lands a body shot. Arlovski pushes Fedor
off with a front kick. Arlovski goes for a flying knee but eats
a right hand. Arlovski is out cold!
Fedor
wins via KO - R1 (3:14)
Source: MMA Fighting
|
“It
Was Definitely the Fight I Wanted”
Lauzon Looking Forward to Bout with Franca
By Kelsey Mowatt
Although
it is being somewhat overshadowed by the upcoming “super-fight”
between Georges St. Pierre and BJ Penn, or this coming weekend’s
all star heavyweight clash with Fedor Emelianenko and Andrei
Arlovski, the February 7th bout between Joe Lauzon and Hermes
Franca should not get lost in the mix. After all, the UFC Fight
Night headliner will pit one of the promotion’s more notable
lightweight prospects in Lauzon, against one of the division’s
more established veterans in Franca. Other than Lauzon’s
TKO loss at the hands of Kenny Florian last April, the 24 year-old
fighter has gone 4-1 in the UFC, and is 8-2 in his last ten.
That said, of his most recent victories, his last, a second round
stoppage of Kyle Bradley in September, none have come against
any top ranked contenders. (Lauzon’s remarkable KO of former
champion Jens Pulver occurred over two years ago) A win over
Franca, a man who has contended for the title and holds wins
over several notable names, could go a long ways in entrenching
Lauzon as a viable contender.
“They
came to me with a couple different people,” said Lauzon,
who will fight Franca in the main event of the February 7th UFC
Fight Night in Tampa, Florida. “I saw that Hermes was the
toughest fight of the bunch. It was definitely the fight I wanted.
My manager told me my options and then he said that he never
wanted any of his guys taking the Hermes Franca fight. Of course
that was the one I wanted. His whole reason was that you never
know how Hermes is going to come. He’s heavy handed, he
comes with things out of nowhere, really unpredictable, kind
of a tough fight to get ready for. That was the one I wanted
though. He was the toughest one out of all of the guys.”
Perhaps
the most memorable demonstration of Franca’s unorthodox
approach was his second round TKO stoppage of the noted striker
Spencer Fisher, at UFC Fight Night 8 in January, 2007. Recently,
when FCF spoke to Franca about his upcoming bout with Lauzon,
the Brazilian stated he was confident in his abilities to battle
Lauzon both standing and on the ground.
“I
think Hermes really likes to stand,” said Lauzon when asked
to predict Franca’s game plan. “I really don’t
anticipate him trying to take me down too much. Maybe if I’m
taking him down and doing well on top he’ll try to take
me down. I think he’d rather stand there and have a kickboxing
fight for the most part. He’s fortunate where he’s
good everywhere. He’s hurt guys on their feet, he’s
knocked out guys on his feet, he’s really heavy handed and
he’s a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu. He’s fine being on
the ground so he doesn’t have a particular weakness. He’s
kind of laid back. He doesn’t really seem to care where
he fights.”
Accomplished
wrestlers like Frankie Edgar, and former champion Sean Sherk,
grinded out victories over Franca with their ground-and-pound
games. Both Edgar and Sherk did not have the kind of height and
reach advantage that the 5’10 tall Lauzon will have however,
when he takes on the much shorter, 5’6 Franca.
“We
have to start standing,” Lauzon said when asked if he primarily
plans on using his reach and striking skills against Franca.
“That will be the first thing to test out. How long that
feeling out process will be I have no idea. If I feel like my
reach and boxing skills can keep him away then I’ll probably
keep it standing. If he starts winging punches at me and clips
me, or comes really close to hitting me, I doubt I’ll want
to hang there very long, I’ll probably take it down.”
The
UFC has once again tapped Lauzon for a main event bout; one which
will be broadcast nationwide on Spike TV. It’s an indication
not only of the fighter’s success thus far; but also of
the former TUF competitor’s growing popularity.
“I’m
pumped for it,” Lauzon told FCF, whose fight with Florian
last April was also the main event for UFC Fight Night 13. “I
have to think that the UFC has a lot of faith in me to give me
this kind of shot so soon. I got a fight against a tough opponent,
but not really a big name, a fight which was on the undercard,
and then they pull me back into the main event. It definitely
feels good knowing that the promotion is behind me, knowing that
they’re pushing me, knowing that they’re behind me,
I’m definitely happy about that.”
Source: Full Contact Fighter
|
VARNER
ON COWBOY:
"IT'S NOTHING I HAVEN'T SEEN"
by Damon Martin
Winning the World Extreme Cagefighting lightweight title isn't
enough for champion Jamie Varner. The 155-pound king of the WEC
is ready to conquer the world and prove that he belongs among
the best lightweights around. The next test to prove that meddle
stands opposite him on Sunday night as he faces Donald "Cowboy"
Cerrone to defend his title for a second time.
The
Arizona Combat Sports standout has been on a destructive path
through the best lightweights the WEC has to offer over the last
year and a half. Starting with his title win over former champ
"Razor" Rob McCullough, then moving on to a first-round
stoppage of previously undefeated fighter Marcus Hicks, it's
Varner's will to keep the streak alive and prove the naysayers
wrong.
"It's
been a goal of mine for a while to break the Top 10," Varner
told MMAWeekly Radio recently. "Obviously my ultimate goal
is to be No. 1 in the world, but I'll take what I can get as
far as this point. I don't think grinding out a decision over
Donald Cerrone will put me in the Top 10, but I think going out
there and beating him in spectacular fashion will get me in the
Top 10."
The
ultimate goal is also a very tough road, but Varner is confident
that he has the skills and the team to get him there. The next
stop on the road, Donald Cerrone, is an undefeated fighter who
trains with Greg Jackson's phenomenal MMA team.
Cerrone
earned his shot at Varner's title with a hard fought, three-round
unanimous decision win over former champion Rob McCullough back
in December. The fight, while not shown on live TV, gained much
attention from fans and critics alike who said it should be nominated
for best fight of 2008.
Always
scouting his next opponent, Varner says that Cerrone did well
in the fight against McCullough, which is exactly the footage
he needed.
"I
thought it was an amazing fight. Cerrone gave me exactly what
I wanted," Varner stated. "I wanted to see him go three
rounds. I didn't really care who won. I wanted to fight Rob again,
but I didn't really care who won. I just wanted to see if it
was the Cowboy. I wanted to see him go three rounds and that's
exactly what I got. I've got video, I'll be able to pick apart
his game, and find some holes."
With
the win, Varner had no problem crowning Cerrone as the No. 1
contender for the title, but still believes that he doesn't have
the previous experience that will carry him through this fight.
"He
definitely became the No. 1 contender with that fight. A lot
of his other fights were a bunch of nobodies, honestly,"
said Varner. "The fact that he went out there and pretty
much submitted everybody in the first round really didn't give
me that much to go off of, or give me anything to work with.
But since he had a three-round war with McCullough, that definitely
solidified him as the No. 1 contender and made him the most deserving
person in the WEC."
Despite
his efforts, the WEC champ still feels that Cerrone didn't face
the same Rob McCullough that he defeated to win the title and
his confidence grew with each minute that expired in that fight.
"I
don't think Rob was ever the same fighter after I fought him,
so I fought the more confident, better Rob McCullough,"
commented Varner. "(Cerrone) said multiple times he wanted
to fight the best Rob McCullough, and I don't think Rob's ever
been the same since I knocked him out."
Still,
Varner remains complimentary of his opponent, and he understands
exactly what he brings to the table for the title fight this
Sunday night in San Diego.
"He's
a very tough guy. He definitely brings a lot of challenges to
the table," Varner said. "He's (got) tough kickboxing,
good jiu-jitsu, real lengthy, rangy fighter; so he brings a lot
of things to the table that Marcus Hicks didn't bring to the
table, but it's nothing I haven't seen."
Source: MMA Weekly
|
General
Gurgel attacks Euro
Alliance leader to participate for second time
After
top black belt competitor Michel Langhi hinted that his teacher
would be participating in the upcoming European Championship,
GRACIEMAG.com set off after master of superstars Fabio Gurgel
for confirmation, and confirmed it.
“I
think it’s really natural [competing]. I’ve been doing
it my whole life and still do, firstly because I like it, secondly
because I think the new generations need to see Jiu-Jitsu doesn’t
end at 30, and to keep myself up to date and closer to my students.
As my master, Jacare, says, ‘a general should be on the
front lines,’” stated the experienced black belt.
Fabio
Gurgel, at “3.9” years of age, as he likes to say,
will compete in a European Championship for the second time,
at the European 2009, to take place from January 30th to February
1st, in Lisbon, Portugal.
In
2007, the Alliance top man took gold in the Senior I super heavyweight
category. Besides being an example, the general, as he is affectionately
known by his students, demonstrates how time and experience really
are what set veterans apart when facing reality. “The state
of spirit is what motivates me to compete, since during each
phase of life one faces it differently. Even if I’ve fought
the same adversary before it may be completely different this
time around. I go into tournaments knowing that even though I’ve
competed thousands of times it may be completely different,”
stated Gurgel, who has been training at the Alliance branch in
Turku, Finland, for the past week.
“Today
I’m starting another week in Helsinki. I’ve been training
a lot, preparing and organizing our team here. Truth is I’m
missing the quality of training we have in Brazil, but on the
other hand I have more time to rest and prepare myself. It’s
a trade that I’m not yet sure whether it’s good or
bad, we’ll see next week,” he said, jokingly.
With
a confident posture, Gurgel said he hopes to have a good championship.
Not just himself, but his team. “Alliance has been growing
for some time and at we’re organizing ourselves for the
European. It wouldn’t be a surprise to us if we win the
championship, but we’re not favorites, since not many will
be coming up from Brazil. Nevertheless our team here is strong
and we’ll be taking nearly 100 athletes,” said the
master of beasts like Sergio Moraes, Gabriel Vella and Demian
Maia in finishing.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Pacquiao
vs. Hatton is back on
By Zach Arnold
A
day after Ricky Hatton was set to cancel his May 2nd fight date
against Manny Pacquiao due to Pacquiao refusing to sign a contract,
Pacquiao has now reportedly signed the fight contract. This was
a similar tactic that Pacquiao used the first time around with
Golden Boy last year when he negotiated for the Oscar De La Hoya
fight. Bob Arum, who is Pacquiao’s promoter, was scheduled
to fly to Manila to try to convince the fighter to sign the deal
to fight Hatton. Apparently, this time around, some alcohol consumption
got the job done.
Pacquiao
originally wanted a 60/40 purse split and a higher guarantee
up front. In the end, it’s now reportedly a 52/48 split
(Hatton’s camp wanted 50/50).
As
the world turns with Hatton, De La Hoya, Pacquiao, Mayweather,
and Calzaghe
By Zach Arnold
So,
Manny Pacquiao’s mouthpiece is challenging Ricky Hatton’s
manhood in the Manila Bulletin. He claims that Richard Schaefer
is at fault for not making the fight with Hatton happen. Ricky
Hatton wants a re-match with Floyd Mayweather Jr., but apparently
Mayweather sees that fight as a dead-ender and wants to fight
Pacquiao instead. Hatton may end up being ’stuck’ with
fighting De La Hoya in the UK. The British media, meanwhile,
has not given up hope on Pacquiao vs. Hatton happening in the
near future.
Joe
Calzaghe, in a separate boxing note, wants to fight Carl Froch.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Watch
Episode 2 of Fedor 'Road to Reckoning'
Press Release
Episode
Two of Fedor's "Road to Reckoning" is now available
on YouTube. In Tuesday's episode, viewers will get a behind-the
scenes look at Fedor ringing the NASDAQ opening bell; Fedor and
friends inside of a limo; footage from Affliction's pre-fight
press conference in New York for "Day of Reckoning"
with special guests Donald Trump and Oscar De La Hoya; a visit
from Fedor's oldest fan; and Fedor being subject to a "random
security check" before boarding a flight to Los Angeles.
You can now view the video via M-1 Global's official YouTube
channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/M1mixfight
Source: The Fight Network
|
Thales
training with Ryan Bader for Silva
By Eduardo Ferreira
Most
of the athletes who fight MMA dreams with a belt in a great organization
and, at April 18th, when the UFC arrives at Canada, Thales Leites
will have the greatest chance of his life. The fight Anderson
Silva, announced in first hand by TATAME.com. is considered for
Thales the most importante of his life.
Therefore,
the BJJ black belt didn’t lose time and went to Arizona,
United States, to work his Boxing and Wrestling in his friend
Gustavo Dantas’ academy. “The training here are great.
Everybody here is good. I’m training everyday, emphasizing
the Boxing and Wrestling part, where they are very good",
said Thales, who is counting with the TUF 8 champion, Ryan Bader’s
help and also the UFC fighter CB Dollaway. “Jaime Warner,
Steve, Simpson and Carlos Condit, all WEC fighters, are helping
me too. Steve is a wrestling coach and is very good teaching
at a school here in Arizona”, completed Leites.
Source: Tatame
|
Arona
confirmed for ADCC
Invitation sent this afternoon
Having been informed of Ricardo Arona’s interest in participating
in ADCC 2009, the organizers of the traditional submission wrestling
tournament wasted o time. The South American branch of the ADCC’s
president Lefterious Magriopolous confirmed the black belt will
participate in the competition. The official invitation was given
by ADCC Brazil General Secretary Wagner Gomes, at a meeting held
this Thursday, in Niteroi.
“This
invitation is really important to me, since I’ve been away
from competition and my life started with the ADCC. That was
what started my MMA career. So to me it’s as though it were
a fresh start. It’s really important for me to start over
this way,” said Arona to GRACIEMAG.com.
“I’m
going to prepare a lot to not be short on stamina and get up
to date technically, with positions, the ones currently used
in grappling. But I’ll pay closest attention to my aim,
because the objective is to win, just to win. So I’m going
to train my mind to win, yet again. I’m undefeated in the
ADCC and plan to remain so,” he continued.
The
possibility of meeting Fedor Emelianenko again in the absolute
category was touched on by the black belt as well.
“I
spoke with Wagner about the possibility of facing Fedor. He weighs
115 kg now, which to me is great, I have no problem with his
weight. I’d like very much to fight him. To me if this fight
happens it’ll be awesome,” he completed.
“Wagner
Gomes commented on Arona’s invitation:
“He
was really excited. I was waiting for a call from the USA to
confirm for Arona and I got it today. Arona is weighing 94kg
and will fight in the under 99kg category. It’s very likely
he will meet Fedor in the absolute. This is the opportunity all
fighters hope for, facing Fedor. And should it happen it will
be great for Arona, who is a fighter who started out with the
ADCC and needs the media on him to have a good comeback.”
ADCC
Brazil, which serves as qualifiers for the main tournament, will
take place between February 6th and 8th, at Botafogo gymnasium,
in Rio de Janeiro.
Stay
tuned to GRACIEMAG.com for further information on ADCC 2009.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Ground
& Pound Awards for 2008
By Zach Arnold
An
update to the voting for the 2008 Ground & Pound Awards:
Media
release from Tim Leidecker
The
die is cast and the vote for the Fourth Annual Ground & Pound
Awards is over. Fans, fighters, managers, promoters and trainers
from all over the world have decided on the winners in the sixteen
categories.
Here
are the results:
*
Fighter of the Year: Rashad Evans (USA)
* Female Fighter of the Year: Gina Carano (USA)
* Fight Team of the Year: Jackson’s Submission Fighting
(USA)
* Rookie of the Year: Ronaldo Jacare (Brazil)
* Most Improved Fighter: Alistair Overeem (Netherlands)
* Best Young Fighter: Gegard Mousasi (Armenia)
* Cult Fighter of the Year: Melvin Manhoef (Netherlands)
* German Fighter of the Year: Peter Sobotta (Balingen)
*
Boxer of the Year: Manny Pacquiao (Philippines)
* Kickboxer of the Year: Remy Bonjasky (Netherlands)
* Grappler of the Year: Roger Gracie (Brazil)
*
Fight of the Year: Quinton Jackson vs. Forrest Griffin (UFC 86)
* Knockout of the Year: Rashad Evans vs. Chuck Liddell (UFC 88)
* Submission of the Year: Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Sylvia (Affliction
“Banned”)
*
Best Promotion: Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)
* Fight Event of the Year: UFC 84 “Ill Will”
We
have recorded votes from all over the world including Germany,
Austria, Switzerland, the UK, Brazil, USA, Canada, the Netherlands,
Czech Republic, Poland, Sweden, France, Norway, Denmark, Russia,
Thailand, Belgium, Croatia, Italy and Japan.
For
complete results, the exact distribution of the votes and in-depth
analysis, please go here:
http://www.groundandpound.de/News/Europa/Ground-Pound-Awards-2008.html
Many
thanks to everybody who has participated!
Originally
posted on January 1st
From
Tim Leidecker
GROUND
& POUND AWARDS 2008 It is time for the Fourth Annual Ground
& Pound Awards, the internet award ceremony that lets you,
the fans, make the decision!
The
year 2008 is now officially in the books and not only international
politics and financial market have experienced major changes,
but mixed martial arts as well.
Former
champions and super stars like Mirko Cro Cop, Wanderlei Silva
and Semmy Schilt said goodbye to the top of the mountain, while
exciting young talents like Gegard Mousasi, Thiago Alves and
Shinya Aoki lay claim to be the sports’ future.
The
UFC is circling solitarily on the MMA firmament and the former
fighting Mecca Japan has to be at full stretch in order not to
fall behind completely.
Contrary
to many other websites and magazines which often have promotional
and or political interests in advancing certain fighters, we
are not deciding the winners ourselves, but we are giving you,the
fans, the opportunity to select the best fighters, fights and
events of the year.
Who
will be Anderson Silva’s heir as Fighter of the Year? Which
is the strongest fight team in the world? And which promotion
consistently puton the best shows? You decide!
The
ballot will be open for fourteen days and once again reflect
theviews of fans, fighters, coaches and promoters around the
world. If you want to smack down your vote as well, you can do
so here:
http://www.groundandpound.de/limesurvey/index.php?sid=27397&lang=en
Voting
runs until January 14 and the results will be published January
15, right here on Fight Opinion! Thanks for voting!
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Quote
of the Day
"The
only thing that overcomes hard luck is hard work."
Harry Golden
|
Affliction
"Day of Reckoning"
Honda Center, Anaheim, California
Fight
Card:
Pay-Per-View
Bouts
Fedor
Emelianenko vs. Andrei Arlovski
Josh Barnett vs. Gilbert Yvel
Matt Lindland vs. Vitor Belfort
Renato "Babalu" Sobral vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
Paul Buentello vs. Kiril Sidelnikov
Dan Lauzon vs. Bobby Green
HDNet Bouts
Antonio
Rogerio Nogueira vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
Jay Hieron vs. Jason High
Albert Rios vs. Antonio Duarte
Brett Cooper vs. Patrick Speight
LC Davis vs. Bao Quach
Affliction 2: Day of Reckoning will come to us all live on January
24, 2009, from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The first
Affliction event brought us Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Sylvia
plus one of the more solid heavyweight undercards ever. What
would the second bring?
How about Fedor Emelianenko vs. Andrei Arlovski in one of those
PRIDE vs. UFC dream match ups from so long ago? Talk about fireworks.
Not to even mention the bouts between Matt Lindland and the always
dangerous Vitor Belfort and Vladimir Matyushenko and Antonio
Rogerio Nogueira.
Fedor
Emelianenko (28-1) vs. Andrei Arlovski (14-5): Fedor is widely
considered to be the best heavyweight MMA fighter in the world
because of his well-roundedness. We’re talking about a guy
that is one of the stronger pound for pound heavyweights in the
world. On top of that, he has above average jiu jitsu/ submission
skills, a lot of power on his feet (ask Tim Sylvia), outstanding
takedowns and takedown defense, solid technique on his feet,
and his ground and pound—keyword= pound—is scary.
Beyond
the fact that he rarely uses kicks for any type of offense, there
isn’t much else to say other than he has tremendous heart
and always comes into fights with an excellent game plan.
Andrei
Arlovski has won five straight and is on fire. Along with this,
he may have the best pure boxing skills of any heavyweight in
MMA right now. He hits fast, hard, and with solid technique.
Arlovski also has solid takedown defense, is very strong, and
has the kind of fast acting submission skills that can catch
you on the ground if you’re not ready from the outset.
That
said, Arlovski isn’t made to be on his back very long. His
weakness would seem to lie in his pure jiu jitsu skills, though
it’s tough to say because he never really ends up on his
back or the ground for any length of time.
Prediction:
If this fight stays standing for too long, Arlovski will likely
win. He’s faster and probably too strong for Fedor in a
technical sense. That means that Fedor will likely come in with
the game plan of taking his opponent down and grinding him down
with ground and pound (the old Fedor).
Will
it work? Well, it only hasn’t worked for Fedor once, even
if this probably is his toughest test to date. And that says
a lot. Still. . .
Fedor
Emelianenko wins via TKO in round two.
Matt
Lindland (21-5) vs. Vitor Belfort (17-8): Belfort has won three
straight. Along with this, he has above average jiu jitsu to
go along with some of the fastest and most lethal hands in the
division. Belfort also has solid takedown defense and takedown
skills.
In
terms of weaknesses, the word on him has always been that if
you push him too far he may crack. In other words, make it a
war of the wills.
Matt
Lindland hasn’t fought all that often recently. Still, he’s
one of the better wrestlers in the division. Along with this,
his takedowns, takedown defense, ground control, and ground and
pound skills are stellar. He’s also quite tough, and has
improved his stand up skills significantly. In terms of submissions,
Lindland is above average.
But
in his last fight he didn’t look like he used to and recently
tried to get elected to congress. Has too much of his time been
devoted elsewhere recently?
Prediction:
This is a tough one. I thought about going with Belfort, in fact,
via KO. But in the end, Belfort will likely have difficulty stopping
Lindland from taking him down and that will be the difference
here.
Matt
Lindland wins via unanimous decision.
THE
REST
Josh
Barnett (23-5) vs. Gilbert Yvel (35-12-1): Gilbert Yvel has posted
30 (T)KO’s during his career. In other words, he’s
as threatening as they come from a stand up perspective. Barnett
is very good on his feet, even if he fails in comparison to Yvel
there. But on the ground, he’s as good as they come. Figure
that Barnett’s strong wrestling will land this fight on
the ground.
Josh
Barnett wins via first round submission.
Vladimir
Matyushenko (21-3) vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (15-3): This
is actually one of the best fights on the card, even if it isn’t
getting much fanfare. Nogueira has solid stand up and excellent
submission skills. Matyushenko has won eight straight and is
unbelievably powerful with outstanding wrestling. So if Matyushenko
takes Nogueira down what happens?
Keep
in mind, of course, that Matyushenko has never lost by way of
submission.
Vladimir
Matyushenko wins by way of unanimous decision.
Chris
Horodecki (12-1) vs. Dan Lauzon (11-2): Lauzon has won seven
straight by stoppage and can fight both on his feet and the ground.
However, he hasn’t been in there with a lot of stellar competition
as of yet. Horodecki demonstrates outstanding stand up technique
with significant power. He’s also a cardio machine. But
Ryan Schultz showed that the recipe to beat him was strong wrestling
and powerful ground and pound.
Thinking
upset here.
Dan
Lauzon by way of unanimous decision.
Renato
“Babalu” Sobral (31-7) vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
(5-3): Sokoudjou is ridiculously powerful and has demonstrated
that on numerous occasions with his stand up. But he has faltered
in the later rounds of his two most recent losses. Guess is that
Sobral will survive for long enough to push the fight to the
second and third stanzas.
Babalu
wins by way of second round submission.
Jay
Hieron (16-4) vs. Jason High (6-0): Both guys have solid skills,
but Hieron has been in there on the big stage against far better
competition.
Jay
Hieron wins via third round TKO.
Albert
Rios (10-3) vs. Antonio Duarte (11-1): Both of these guys are
well-rounded submission fighters. When all else fails, go with
the guy with the better record.
Antonio
Duarte wins by way of a close decision.
Brett
Cooper (7-4) vs. Patrick Speight (7-1): Speight hits hard and
is coming off of a decision loss. Cooper is on a four fight winning
streak and has come up against some solid competition in the
past.
Brett
Cooper wins by way of unanimous decision.
Paul
Buentello (26-10) vs. Kirill Sidelnikov (5-2): Buentello has
strong stand up skills but has been on somewhat of a downward
turn recently. Sidelnikov is a Red Devil fighter with strong
stand up as well. Go with the more experienced guy here.
Paul
Buentello wins by way of third round TKO.
LC
Davis (12-1) vs. Bao Quach (15-8-1): These guys are both solid
and have been hot. Davis may be the more well-rounded fighter,
though.
LC
Davis wins by way of decision.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Harris
Sarmiento Loses Decision In PFC
Palace
Fighting Championships (PFC)
Michael McDonald def. Jason Georgianna 2:38 R1 by TKO
Phil Davis def. Josh Green 1:49 R1 by TKO
Xavier Foupa-Pokam def. Kyacey Uscola 2:06 R1 by KO
John Gunderson def. Alexander Crispim by split decision
Evan Dunham def. Dustin Akbari 0:40 R3 by rear naked choke
Billy Evangelista def. Harris Sarmiento by unanimous decision
Cyrille
Diabate def. Lodune Sincaid 1:15 R2 by TKO
Olaf Alfonso def. Jeremiah Metcalf 1:38 R1 by arm bar
Tito Jones def. Justin Smitley by split decision
Brian Cobb def. Lance Wipf 1:17 R2 by rear naked choke
Lavar Johnson def. Dave Huckaba 3:00 R1 by TKO
Diego Saraiva def. Jorge Evangelista 2:39 R2 by rear naked choke
Jeff Bedard def. Shawn Klarcyk 2:40 R3 by north-south choke
|
Predictions
for Affliction: Day of Reckoning
By Jeff "Wombat" Meszaros
There
are certain ways to make a lot of money, even if you don't know
what the hell you are doing, but promoting mixed martial arts
events is not one of them. Of course, a lot of people are only
realizing that now. Not long ago, the sport was seen as an easy
get-rich-quick scheme by greedy fools everywhere who, combing
back their heavily-gelled hair and stroking their fine fake-gold
necklaces, thought they could make it big by pouring a few street-brawlers
into a chicken coop for the bloodthirsty pleasure of drunken
hooligans. Now, with the streets littered with their bodies,
we see things aren't so easy. Just as you can't declare yourself
a doctor and start doing heart transplants in your kitchen, you
can't just build a cage and call yourself a fight promoter. You
have to know what the hell you are doing. Does Affliction know
what the hell they are doing? We'll find out Saturday at the
aptly-named "Day of Reckoning".
Fedor
Emelianenko vs. Andrei Arlovski
I
can remember a time when Mike Tyson was the heavyweight boxing
champion of the world and the undisputed best fighter on earth
but nobody wanted to pay to watch him fight. He'd dispatched
so many opponents with such carefree ease, fans saw no point
in shelling out 50-bucks to Don King to witness a 30-second beating
that they could see for free the next day, in it's entirety,
on the news.
Emelianenko
has now reached that same point. Even though he's facing Arlovski;
a man who could very well be the devil himself (test results
are inconclusive), nobody is giving the bearded Belarussian a
chance against Fedor who could be (again, inconclusive test results)
a mutant robot from the future. However, nobody expected James
"Buster" Douglas to KO Tyson either, right? Exactly.
Of
course, the error there is that Tyson had become so confident
by that point in his career, he'd stopped training properly and
has started spending all his time playing fetch with his pet
tiger and bundles of thousand-dollar bills. Fedor has not, and
will not, make the same mistake since the penalty for such behavior
in Russia is death by stoning; although instead of stones they
use frozen turnips.
Can
Arlovski win? Absolutely. Kazuyuki Fujita put Fedor on roller-skates
some years ago, and there's no doubt the former UFC champ can
do the same since he moves like a rabbit and hits like a sledgehammer.
Will he win though? That is a different story entirely. Remember,
Emelianenko took less that a commercial-break's time to send
Tim Sylvia back to pre-school with his own ass in his mouth,
and Sylvia beat Arlovski twice. My Guess: Fedor by TKO.
Josh
Barnett vs. Gilbert Yvel
According
to the fight-makers at Affliction, the winner of this fight will
face the winner of Fedor vs. Arlovski for the heavyweight title.
Effectively, that means the winner will fight Fedor, unless there
is a rip in the space-time continuum and Arlovski somehow pulls
off a miracle greater even than the time David Copperfield made
the statue of liberty disappear for an hour; then reappear and
attack Pakistan. Fine, I am making that up, but honestly this
match is no less ridiculous. True, Yvel is a scary, scary dude;
both due to his striking prowess and his tendency to ignore even
the basic rules of MMA, such as not attacking the referee. However,
the wild spirit of the flying dutchman does not work to his advantage.
Accordingly, not only will he have to overcome Barnett's superior
grappling and submission skills to win, he will have to resist
the burning urge to eye-gouge, bite and attack people besides
his opponent. Personally, if I was the referee here I would wear
both a cup and a mouthguard. My Guess: Barnett by submission.
Vitor
Belfort vs. Matt Lindland
I
honestly cannot believe people are still wondering whether the
"old" Belfort will show up; the one who KO'd "Tank"
Abbott back in the single-digit UFC days. Hasn't anyone heard
of aging? Honestly, this isn't the "Curious Case of Benjamin
Button", which by the way was the saddest movie I have ever
seen and a blatant chick-flick as well. My point, however, is
that people do not age in reverse. They get older and slower.
Expecting Belfort to suddenly be young again is like dumping
Helio Gracie into the octagon and expecting him to win a three-hour
challenge match against Kimura who, incidentally, is dead. Give
your head a shake people! My Guess: Lindland by decision.
Renato
"Babalu" Sobral vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
Sokoudjou
caught a few people by surprise early in his career, back when
nobody knew that his judo credentials were really just a disguise
to hide his explosive and unorthodox striking. Once people figured
out that "The African Assassin" was all about kicking
people in the head; even if they're behind him, then everything
changed. Now 1-2 in his last three bouts, Sokoudjou is facing
someone with literally six times his own experience in "Babalu".
(Officialy fight math: 5-3 vs. 31-8). Of course, in addition
to being vastly more experienced than his opponent, Sobral is
also as crazy as a bag of cats, and tends to throw strategy out
the window when blind rage takes over. If you'd like an example
of that, look no further than his second fight with Chuck Liddell,
where "Babalu" ran acoss the cage at his foe, windmilling
his arms like a man simultaneously on fire and covered in bees.
If Sobral can keep his wits about him, he should win. If not,
he will take another shin-bone to the nose. My Guess: Sobral
by decision.
Chris
Horodecki vs. Dan Lauzon
Horodecki
looks like he is four years old and should be sitting in a high-chair
in a restaurant playing with an action figure while refusing
to eat pizza. Instead, he is leaping around inside the ring,
kicking people's asses left and right. It is a bizarre juxtaposition.
Lauzon actually looks his age which means if he wins, he could
get in trouble with the law for child abuse. My Guess: Horodecki
by decision.
Paul
Buentello vs. Kiril Sidelnikov
Sidelnikov
is Fedor Emeliananko's apprentice, and looks exactly like you'd
expect, complete with the chubby body, well-insulated against
cold Russian winters by layers of seal-like baby fat, and the
1980's style mullet, which is all the rage in Russia right now;
along with "I want my MTV" by Dire Straits. My Guess:
Sidelnikov by TKO.
Vladimir
Matyushenko vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
I
wonder what the UFC thinks about seeing the twin brother of their
former heavyweight champion fighting in their competition's event?
I'm just going to go ahead and assume they don't like it. After
all, it must be hell for them to market a guy by giving him a
starring role in a TV show and then have someone who looks just
like him fight for the enemy. Perhaps now that their Nogueira
is no longer the champion, their "care factor" is a
touch lower. Perhaps not. Or, perhaps, this is all a moot point
since Matyushenko has already beaten the smaller of the two twins
once and will likely do it again. Of course, that was six years
ago. My Guess: Nogueira by TKO.
Jay
Hieron vs. Jason High
Before
the International Fight League closed up their MMA shop and opened
ice-cream stands around the country as the International Flavor
League, serving such favorites as "Wolfpack" and "Razorclaw",
Hieron won their welterweight title by knocking senseless a long
line of opponents. High is undefeated, but has not faced anyone
as athletic as "The Thoroughbred" yet. There is a good
chance he will get a double-scoop of defeat this time. My Guess:
Hieron by TKO.
Jeff
Meszaros welcomes reader feedback at wombat@fcfighter.com and
can be heard as the host of FCF Radio.
Source: Full Contact Fighter
|
BOBBY
GREEN TO REPLACE HORODECKI AT AFFLICTION
by Tom Hamlin
Southern California lightweight Bobby Green will replace Chris
Horodecki to face Dan Lauzon in Saturday's "Day of Reckoning,"
according to Bill Douglas, Assistant Executive Officer for the
California State Athletic Commission.
After
a 24-hour scramble, Affliction execs managed to save the bout.
Despite
reports to the contrary, Joe Cavallaro, a representative of Dan
Lauzon, confirmed to MMAWeekly.com that the Lauzon vs. Green
bout is still expected to remain on the pay-per-view portion
of the fight card.
Green
is 7-1 as a professional mixed martial artist, with the lion's
share of his bouts fought for the Los Angeles-based Total Fighting
Alliance promotion and Mexico-based Warrior's Fighting Championship.
He currently trains out of Riverside Submission Academy in Riverside,
Calif under MMA vet Joe Camacho.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Belfort
all set
Fighter finished preparations for Affliction
Carlos Osorio / PortaldasLutas.com
Vitor Belfort has been in the United States for a few weeks,
where he has been doing his final preparations for his bout with
Matt Lindland, this Saturday, January 24, at Affliction 2. With
one of his sources of inspiration, his daughter Vitoria, by his
side, Belfort commented on how the final phase of preparations
went.
“I
did this last part of my training here at Xtreme Couture and
it was great. I trained a lot with Robert Drysdale and did a
lot of wrestling. I had a lot of sparring partners here and did
great work with the muay thai coach they have here,” said
the Carioca to Portal das Lutas, GRACIEMAG.com partner site.
Before
the fight, Vitor will have another battle: to hit 185 pounds,
the max weight for his middleweight category.
“I
think I’ll show up at the weigh-ins doing fine. I did the
same thing last time, losing 10kg in the United States. There
are two battles, one the day of weigh-ins and the other the day
of the fight,” he remarked.
On
the bout with Lindland, Belfort is confident and promises to
give it his best. “I’ll do my very best, that’s
for sure. What I want most is to give it my all in the ring.
That’s what we’ve been practicing and that’s what
we’re doing here, paying the price so that on the day we’ll
go to the maximum. It’ll all be fine,” he finished.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
ANDREI
ARLOVSKI'S OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME
by Tom Hamlin
Saturday will mark the culmination of eight years worth of challenges
for Andrei Arlovski. Facing him at Affliction’s “Day
of Reckoning” is the man generally considered to be the
scariest, most talented, ruthless fighter to set foot on MMA’s
canvas: Fedor Emelianenko.
For
three months, this phrase has almost become a mantra: He’s
only human.
A
necessary reminder, of course, for a man many believe to be unbeatable.
“I
thought nobody can beat me, but everybody knows that Tim Sylvia
beat me twice,” counters Arlovski. “He’s a human.
I guess he was prepared for all the fights very good.”
Arlovski
wants the world to know he prepared for the fight of his life
like no other. For three months, his web series, “Arlovski
360,” has chronicled the sweat shed for Emelianenko, along
with his thoughts on facing the champion. It’s a record
for him, too. Whatever happens on Jan. 24, he can look at the
tape and know he did his best.
But
to beat the unbeatable, the journey really begins and ends in
his mind.
“I
have to be mentally prepared for this fight I think the most,”
he said. “I want to be the first in MMA to beat Fedor.”
Another
mantra follows this wish: I will do everything possible to beat
him.
Arlovski
says the addition of Freddie Roach made his camp more experimental,
a welcome change from the usual orbit of boxing/wrestling/jiu-jitsu,
that, while necessary, gets old. Roach’s inexperience in
the world of MMA shook up the well-defined play between steady
coaches Mike Garcia, Dino Costeas, and Sean Bormet.
“I
was really surprised, and at the same time excited, because Freddie
asked me…'what can you do for example, can you kick here
or punch there?' says Arlovski. "And all my trainers are
here. Everybody asks each other, ‘what do you think about
this?’ Everybody is on the same page, and it’s great.
Freddie asks ‘what if you kick him low here or front kick
here, can you punch here?’ I think so, let’s try it.”
Emelianenko
is the clear favorite on the ground, simply because Arlovski
doesn’t relish that part of the game as much. They share
a Sambo background, but for Arlovski, it’s just an awareness
of moves he’ll have to counteract with his jiu-jitsu. Through
his years with Costeas, the Brazilian art has replaced the Russian
pastime in significance.
“If
I be on the ground with Fedor, I have to do something else,”
he explains. “I’m practicing this way. I have to like
the guard better, look for armbars and leglocks, so I’m
ready.”
Ready,
he says, to implement the real game plan.
“I
have to try and knock him out, that’s it,” Arlovski
says. “I’m ready for both ways.”
There
are thoughts of a future in boxing, but they are the least of
his concerns right now.
“I’m
focused on my fight with Fedor, and we’ll see what happens
after,” he says.
When
he steps into the ring with Emelianenko on Saturday, he’ll
be looking for more than just a belt. He wants to be called the
world’s best.
“All
my life I’ve been preparing for this fight, and I want more
than anything to be champion on Jan. 24,” he says. “They
put my arm in the air and call me the champion, it’s a great
moment. I train hard for this moment.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Oscar
De La Hoya garners some media attention for Affliction in NY
By Zach Arnold
Update:
Gilbert Yvel has been cleared by the California State Athletic
Commission to fight Josh Barnett.
I
was curious how Affliction would do in terms of media coverage
in the various NYC newspapers and online for having Oscar De
La Hoya show up for the first time since his loss to Manny Pacquiao.
As
expected, the coverage was minimal (at best) and the focus from
the media towards De La Hoya was about him and not so much about
Affliction. You’re not surprised.
Tito
Ortiz, of course, got in his shots on Dana White. The New York
Times has a somewhat glowing profile piece on Fedor, with the
ironic comment from a Russian newspaper writer that he is surprised
that “that in Russia very few people know [Fedor].”
The
most interesting angle here is how boxing fans will react. So
far, they seem to be reacting to De La Hoya and not with much
interest about Affliction, which of course defeats the purpose
of what Affliction is trying to accomplish here.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
MMA
Buzz for Jan. 22 - Any Truth to Swick vs. Alves?
Ariel Shnerer
-
As reported on Wednesday, Chris Horodecki was not cleared to
compete on the Jan. 24 Affliction: Day of Reckoning card due
to a bulging disc in his neck. No replacement has been named
as of yet to take on Dan Lauzon in lightweight action.
FiveOuncesOfPain.com
is reporting that welterweights Jay Hieron and Jason High, initially
scheduled to clash on the HDNet undercard, will now face off
on the pay-per-view broadcast. Hieron (16-4) is the last reigning
welterweight champion of the defunct International Fight League,
while High (6-0) has accumulated a perfect mixed martial arts
record with a notable victory over UFC prospect Kevin Burns.
-
While Horodecki is off the card, controversial heavyweight Gilbert
Yvel has been cleared to take on Josh Barnett to determine the
#1 contender for the WAMMA heavyweight title. The winner of that
bout will take on the winner of Fedor Emelianenko vs. Andrei
Arlovski at an Affliction event later this year. Yvel, who has
encountered a fair share of heat for his reputation of unsportsmanlike
conduct, boasts a 35-12-1 record with wins over Semmy Schilt,
Cheick Kongo, Gary Goodridge and Kiyoshi Tamura.
-
In other news, Luis Cane (9-1), initially reported to take on
Keith Jardine at UFC 97, will now face the last WEC light heavyweight
champion Steve Cantwell (7-1) at the same event, which is scheduled
for April 18 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Jardine, meanwhile, will now meet Quinton "Rampage"
Jackson at UFC 96.
-
According to MMAJunkie.com, there is no truth to recent comments
made by Marcus Davis regarding a possible Mike Swick (13-2) vs.
Thiago Alves (16-3) welterweight bout in February. However, the
same source is reporting that should St-Pierre vanquish Penn
to retain his title, a title defense against Alves will go on
as planned. But if Penn emerges victorious and adds a second
title to his resume, his first defense would be a lightweight
title bout against Kenny Florian. As such, Swick and Alves might
clash to determine who will be first to challenge Penn for the
welterweight title. However, Penn must first claim the prestigious
170-pound title from G.S.P. on Jan. 31, which is easier said
than done.
Source: The Fight Network
|
JOSH
BARNETT PLANS TO KEEP HIM GUESSING
by Mitch Gobetz
Josh Barnett is really excited to get back in the ring on Saturday
night against former Pride veteran Gilbert Yvel. Barnett, the
No. 2 ranked heavyweight by MMAWeekly.com, hasn't fought since
his redemption fight against Pedro Rizzo back in July.
The
layoff was too long for “The Babyface Assassin” who
would like nothing more than to stay active. “It wasn't
all that great to have a lay off like that,” said Barnett
in a recent interview with MMAWeekly Radio. “I tried to
get a couple fights in between there, but it couldn't be worked
out. I'm really glad to be back in the ring to be perfectly honest.”
Barnett
was supposed to fight back in October at Affliction's sophomore
show in Las Vegas, however the promotion was forced to postpone
the event after poor ticket sales and the saturation of the Las
Vegas market by current top dog promoter the Ultimate Fighting
Championship. Disappointed by the fact that he wasn't able to
compete, Barnett feels that this event is going to be very important
for Affliction.
“I
was very disappointed to say the least,” he explained. “It
ended up being that it had to be done, I guess. We'll have to
really see how it all rolls out on the 24th. It's really important
that we do a great job given the opportunity. My opinion was
to stay out of Vegas and go to Orange County. That was my opinion
and I can't blame someone for trying.”
A
long awaited fight with current No. 1 ranked heavyweight, Fedor
Emelianenko, has been a fight that has been talked about for
a few years. There was some debate among fans who was going to
get the next shot at Emelianenko after the July event since both
Barnett and Andrei Arlovski had impressive showings. Arlovski
will be the man to take on the Russian on Saturday.
Instead
of Fedor, Yvel was chosen to take on Barnett, who feels that
Yvel is a quality opponent.
“I
was fine with that,” he stated. “If they were going
to give me a solid offer, then I'd take it. He's got the credentials
to belong in the ring. He's got like 38 wins and 35 or something
crazy like that are by knockout.”
A
fight with Emelianenko is inevitable. If Barnett and Fedor are
both victorious in their respective fights, they are certain
to square off for Fedor's WAMMA title. Barnett realizes this
and hopes that Affliction will market and pay the fighters what
Barnett feels is fair for an elite level fight of that magnitude.
“Basically,
I'll be looking for that when Fedor and I finally step in the
ring. They better pony up the money to make it a huge event.
I don't think too far ahead on things. I've got Yvel ahead of
me and he wants to knock my block off and possibly bite it. I
got to make sure that I show up ready to go.”
Emelianenko
will take on Arlovski, the former UFC heavyweight champion, on
the same card. Arlovski is considered one of the fastest and
most versatile heavyweights in the world and could pose some
problems for Emelianenko. However, Barnett feels that Fedor has
what it takes to put “The Pitbull” on a leash. “I
think Fedor will put too much pressure on Arlovski and put him
on his back and that's how he'll win the fight.”
First
things first, Barnett has a tall task ahead of him in Gilbert
Yvel.
Yvel
has strong power and lethal hands. Barnett has his own way of
dealing with Yvel and he won't shy away from the stand-up.
“Slugfests,
I'm fine with those,” said a confident Barnett. “I
do okay. I just got to make sure that he doesn't catch me with
some shot where I'm not putting pressure on him and I'm not where
I need to be. He needs to be careful that I don't get a hold
of him and put him on his back. We'll see what kind of rhythm
he can get going. Even if he thinks I'm going to be taking him
down, I'm going to be hitting him. When he thinks I'm going to
hit him, then I'll try to take him down. So he's going to be
guessing.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Fedor's
Affliction
by Jason Probst
With the aspirations of an upstart mixed martial arts organization
resting squarely on his shoulders, Fedor Emelianenko’s performance
Saturday night will play a huge role in determining Affliction’s
success.
That’s
because the heavyweight championship of the world remains a huge
feather in any promotional cap, especially in lieu of boxing’s
inability to establish a clear successor to Lennox Lewis since
he retired five years ago. It’s still the biggest prize
in sports, and despite MMA’s booming growth, the UFC hasn’t
been able to grab that kind of recognition with a heavyweight
for an extended period of time since it became mainstream.
Affliction,
and Fedor, could challenge all that and create an interesting
set of paradoxes for both promotions to deal with, given how
Fedor’s bout with Andrei Arlovski turns out.
That’s
because the Russian phenom, recognized as the world’s finest
heavyweight, is an elusive commodity whose services the UFC has
been unable to secure. And in facing Arlovski, Sherdog.com’s
No. 2-ranked heavyweight, it isn’t just a question of whether
Fedor wins (or loses) but also how he performs that influences
the likelihood of Affliction building a core fan base that can
help it endure in these decidedly lean economic times.
As
the UFC continues to power ahead in the wake of savage flameouts
of rival promotions, it holds multiple advantages over Affliction
in the ever-changing battle for the consumer’s pay-per-view
dollar. UFC can program several months ahead (read below), has
a huge edge in brand awareness among fans and a far deeper roster
of talent with which to assemble fight cards and develop fresh
rivalries, rematches and storylines.
Affliction,
meanwhile, has but one high card in its hand -- Emelianenko --
and even the casual MMA fan might think twice about dropping
$45 for a pay-per-view card largely comprised of ex-UFC fighters,
few of whom competed, much less succeeded, for an extended period
of time at the championship level.
Take
a peek at Saturday night’s fight poster -- of the 10 fighters
shown, seven are UFC vets. Recycling is a great idea when it
comes to saving the Earth, but in building a new fight promotion,
public perception is everything. Stacking a talent base with
guys perceived to be UFC retreads (fair or not, this is the de
facto conclusion some fans might reach) does not a successful
promotion make. At least not when the nation is headed for 10-percent
unemployment and a severe shrinkage of disposable consumer spending.
Will
Arlovski be Fedor Emelianenko's greatest test? However, despite
these challenges, Fedor could be the force that puts Affliction
on firmer ground. At 28-1 (with one no-contest), he has amassed
a record of startling consistency, underscored with a penchant
for highlight-reel destructions. In his July 19 debut with Affliction,
he dispatched former UFC heavyweight boss Tim Sylvia in 36 seconds.
It was a huge win for both the fighter and the promotion, but
with a bare heavyweight cupboard beyond Arlovski, Fedor can win
while Affliction loses. Here’s how the case-by-case scenario
breaks down:
Another
Fedor blowout
A
short-term win for Affliction, which must then dig up another
live body for Fedor. Arlovski is clearly one of the most talented
heavyweights in the world -- and in dismantling any chance of
a rematch, Fedor’s victory immediately jacks up the price
for the services of any top-level heavyweight. If this happens,
the UFC would be smart to sign as many heavyweight prospects
as possible, while retaining veteran names to keep them in-house.
An
exciting fight that Emelianenko wins
The
perfect outcome for Affliction, as it can build on this scenario
to draw more customers for a future PPV card while buying time
to build its brand. It’s very possible that Arlovski gives
Fedor a good go, as he has the tools to do it. With potent hands,
athleticism and good takedown defense, Arlovski will do the promotion
a favor by giving Fedor a tough fight. Outside of Josh Barnett
(who faces Gilbert Yvel on the card), there’s nobody on
Affliction’s roster that would rate better than a 10-1 underdog
against Fedor. That’s why the way this fight plays out is
so important.
Emelianenko
loses a tough fight
A
small setback for the company, but it can build toward a quick
rematch (see above). If this happens, however, it deals a critical
blow to Emelianenko’s bargaining position down the road
with the UFC. As Affliction’s survival seems to be on a
month-by-month basis, seeing their marquee attraction lose doesn’t
do them a lot of favors. Plus, if Arlovski wins, you can almost
hear the quotes coming out of Dana White about how Fedor lost
to a former UFC champ.
Arlovski
in a blowout
Hard
to fathom, but if anybody’s got the goods to send Emelianenko
packing, it’s “The Pitbull.” He has dangerous
hands, a renewed training regimen and will be three inches taller
with a lot of options to unload. Hot and cold at times, when
Arlovski is dialed in, he delivers destructive shots. Emelianenko’s
grappling game is so superb that you can just about forget beating
him in a ground-grinding match, but he does have a tendency to
wade in throwing haymaker shots. If this happens, mute the TV,
open the door and point your ear toward Vegas -- you’ll
hear the high-pitched cackle of the Zuffa executive brass enjoying
a hearty, competitor-crushing laugh.
The
reason Fedor’s showing is so important is that a massive
vacuum has existed in combat sports for five years -- because
there is no widely recognized heavyweight champion. And as the
sweet science has lacked a captain of its flagship division,
the prize is there for the taking. It’s not going to be
assumed Saturday night, regardless of what happens, but with
the emergence of Brock Lesnar in the UFC (who’ll have to
fight Frank Mir to settle who owns the UFC belt), a Lesnar-Fedor
fight down the road might be so big that everyone involved has
to blink and let the cash cow happen.
The
problem with that scenario is that the UFC has a much deeper
talent base and can wait it out while Affliction battles for
survival. Check the programming dates of upcoming fight cards,
both pay-per-view and cable, and it’s easy enough to understand
how Affliction faces the dual challenges of recurring programming
that draws in viewers, along with getting a date where there
isn’t already a show -- MMA or otherwise -- that could potentially
suck away viewers. Held at the Honda Center in Anaheim and co-promoted
by Golden Boy, the Affliction show already has to deal with the
weird byproduct of another Golden Boy-affiliated event at the
Staples Center in L.A., the Antonio Margarito-Shane Mosley bout
on HBO.
It
doesn’t get any easier in the coming months. The UFC is
already ginning up the schedule with PPV shows on Jan. 31 and
March 7 and with cards on Spike Feb. 7 and 21. Whatever the crossover
factor is between potential boxing and MMA conflict, it stands
to reason that at least a few potential MMA buyers also contemplate
sweet science PPVs, and with about one per month in that sport,
Affliction could literally get squeezed out unless the cards
fall in a very specific way.
The
hard truth of it is that boxing, which has been ripe for the
taking for years, still hasn’t consolidated its mess of
belts to produce a successor to Lennox Lewis. That five-year
gap in lineage between recognized heavyweight champions is the
longest in the sport’s history since John L. Sullivan started
the chain in 1885.
Boxing
has always had the heavyweight champion and the attendant spoils
of ownership. Whether it was the memorable bouts waged between
Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier or the Evander Holyfield-Mike Tyson
rivalry, the sport could always fall back on the massive booster
shot of heavyweight bucks to give itself a surge (illegal bites
notwithstanding).
The
PPV industry was largely built around heavyweight boxing as it
came into maturation in the 1980s, and today’s model is
sorely lacking in heavyweight attractions. Wladimir Klitschko
owns two barely meaningful belts, his brother Vitali has the
third, with another Russian, Ruslan Chagaev, holding the fourth.
There are no contenders of note for either Klitschko to tangle
with, and Wladimir’s recent performances have been one-sided
beatings -- the bad kind that make you immediately erase the
recording and reminisce about the division’s better days.
Boxing’s
biggest prize is ready to be taken, if only someone will emerge
with the badass quotient and requisite big-stage fury and permanently
tip the scales so that when the subject of who is the heavyweight
champ comes up around the water cooler, the geek in Accounts
Receivable will name someone in MMA.
That’s
why Fedor’s performance is more than just a fight. Affliction’s
very health depends on it. Forget about the constant quibbling
between White and Fedor’s management, who’ve been at
odds since the organization was unable to sign him last year.
And with Lesnar’s fight-by-fight improvement revealing him
to be every bit the monster he was billed to be, someone could
emerge as the Mike Tyson of MMA. It’s all a matter of how
the baddest heavyweight in the world performs Saturday night
and whether or not he generates the necessary traction to motivate
the powers that be to make it happen.
Promotional
rivalries aside, the biggest prize in sports -- the heavyweight
title and the windfall that comes with it -- is there to be taken.
Source: Sherdog
|
Marcelo
Garcia back to MMA in 2009?
By Guilherme Cruz
With
only one professional fight in MMA, in 2007, Marcelo Garcia can
return to the rings in 2009. Sengoku’s middleweight champion,
Jorge Santiago trains next to the phenomenon at American Top
Team and bet his chips on the fellow for 2009.
"Marcelo
Garcia impresses me in training, he’s finally adapted to
MMA and I’m sure he’ll give some trouble to his opponents",
bets Santiago. In the only fight that he did in the MMA, Marcelinho
was defeated by Dae Won Kim with 20 seconds of the second round
by medical interruption, due to a cut in the head, at K-1.
About
his bets in other categories, Santiago believes that ATT will
dominate the events in the United States and in Japan. "At
155lbs, I have to say that Gesias (Cavalcante) is coming very
strong and I really believe he’ll beat anyone in this category
in 2009. Up to 170, my friend, Thiago Alves (“Pitbull”)
is also in great shape. He’s dreaming with this title for
a long time and I think he will get it".
In
the categories above, Jorginho keeps the optimism. "In the
category up to 205lbs, Thiago Silva is in great shape and has
great chances to beat (Lyoto) Machida and take the title. At
the heavyweights, Antônio "Bigfoot" (Silva) is
a monster. I'm sure he’ll beat anyone in Japan. I only hope
that the CSAC allows Bigfoot to return to fight in the United
States as soon as possible", concluded Santiago.
Source: Tatame
|
Ronys
out of UFN 18, Fighter to operate knee
The
much-anticipated debut of Ronys Torres in the UFC will have to
wait. The Brazilian fighter suffered a knee injury while training
in Rio de Janeiro. That being the case, the Nova Uniao fighter
is confirmed to no longer be on the card at Ultimate Fight Night
18, to be held on April 1st an where Torres would have faced
Melvin Guillard.
According
to GRACIEMAG.com’s sources, Ronys will need to be operated
and should be out of action for no less than six months.
The
UFC organization has not yet released the name of his substitute.
The
card is as follows:
Efrain
Escudero x Jeremy Stephens
Ryan Bader x Carmelo Marrero
Rafael dos Anjos x Tyson Griffin
Melvin Guillard x a ser definido
Junie Browning x Cole Miller
Ricardo Almeida x Matt Horwich
Nate Loughran x Nissen Osterneck
Ryan Jensen x Steve Steinbeiss
Tim McKenzie x Aaron Simpson
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
WEC
coming to Corpus Christi, Texas on March 1st
By Zach Arnold
The
top two fights on the card will be Mike Brown vs. Leonard Garcia
for the WEC Featherweight Title and Carlos Condit vs. Brock Larson
for the WEC Welterweight Title. The event is taking place at
the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas, which is the
same location that Elite XC ran with KJ Noons beating Nick Diaz
for the 160-pound EXC belt. (It was also home to Kimbo Slice
vs. Bo Cantrell, not so much a highlight.)
With
knowledge that fighters under the Zuffa banner usually have a
close-to-70% chance of winning a re-match if they beat their
opponent in the first encounter, WEC is trying to do the hard
sell on how or why Brock Larson will have a chance against Condit:
There’s
been one man that has completely dominated the WEC’s 170-pound
division and that man is Welterweight champion Carlos Condit
(6’2”/170 lbs., fighting out of Albuquerque, N.M.).
With a first-round submission victory against Larson in 2007,
Condit will be coming in with plenty of confidence. At only 24,
the champion has compiled a 21-4 record and is 5-0 in the WEC
with four wins coming via submission and one by TKO. Now the
champion faces a man he knows all too well.
“I
am excited for the matchup,” Condit said. “The first
time out I was able to make it a short night. Since then he has
evolved as a fighter and he is a very dangerous opponent. I think
my new training camp will help me be better prepared for a very
tough Brock Larson. I feel like I am facing the top 170-pounder
in the WEC. Brock has been on fire as of late and I expect him
to give me a very tough fight.”
Title
shots are a luxury that some fighters never receive; and Brock
Larson (5’11”/170 lbs., fighting out of Brainerd, Minn.),
who has won his last two fights since losing to Condit, knows
that a second shot at the belt is something that cannot be wasted.
“I’m
confident that there’s going to be a different outcome,”
Larson said. “I’ve been in there and felt how strong
he is or isn’t. I’ve got everything to gain and he’s
got everything to lose. I’ve got a lot more confidence and
I know it’s going to be a war. I’m training for 25
minutes of hell. There’s no need to finish a fight in the
first round. I’m going to go in there and do my thing. I’m
going to slow it down, win the fight more strategically.”
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Shamrock:
'They’re Wrong About Me'
by Lotfi Sariahmed
“The World’s Most Dangerous Man” is angry.
“I’ve
had a string of bad luck,” Ken Shamrock said on Sherdog
Radio Network’s “Beatdown” on Wednesday. “My
ability to get things done in the ring is still there. I wouldn’t
do it if I couldn’t. But trainings have gone well and it’s
really just a few injuries that have kept me from cutting loose.”
Shamrock
goes into 2009 on the heels of a problematic 2008 in which Shamrock
was front and center during what many call the beginning of the
end for EliteXC last October. The 44-year-old legend, winless
in his last five outings, was forced to pull out of his bout
with Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson on CBS the day of,
due to an injury he suffered while rolling.
Shamrock
wasn’t pleased with how Pro Elite, the owners of the failed
promotion, reacted to his misfortune.
“I
think the way they handled it that night and afterwards with
these accusations from them that I shouldn’t have been rolling
and all these opinions being talked about,” said Shamrock.
“But this is what I do. I haven’t done anything different.
To try and find an avenue in which you could put the blame on
upset me as opposed to them just saying it was a shame. If you
don’t have proof, why would you do something like that?
When you’re wrong, how do you take that back?”
But
the sport moves on and Shamrock (26-13-2) isn’t ready to
get off the carousel just yet.
The
UFC Hall of Famer springs back into action on Feb. 13 against
300-pound super heavyweight Ross Clifton (6-8) at “The Valentine’s
Eve Massacre, a co-promoted event between Ken Shamrock Productions
and Wargods.
“We
wanted to do Bo Cantrell and John Marsh but neither of those
fights were able to happen,” Shamrock said. “Bo Cantrell
blew his knee out and John Marsh couldn’t get ready in time.
So we were looking to see what we could put together on short
notice. This one seemed very interesting to me because if I was
a fan looking at this fight it would peak my interest as to how
you would beat a guy that big. It would be tough to take him
down and submit him but you probably could once you got him to
the ground because he doesn’t move very well. But you don’t
want to end up on the bottom.”
Shamrock
hopes this is the start of a successful string of fights for
himself and his burgeoning promotion. Bouts with adopted brother
Frank Shamrock and UFC contemporary Tank Abbott loom on the horizon
as well.
“This
has been a fight that’s been trying to happen for years,”
said Shamrock. “Every time I try to turn the page to the
next fight there’s always the question, ‘Are you going
to fight Tank?’ And it seems no matter how many times he
loses or I lose or we win or wherever we go the question keeps
coming up. So why not? Lets put it on and let’s get it over
with.”
Though
he’s been down on his luck of late, Shamrock doesn’t
seem to have a shortage of challengers. Word of a potential bout
against former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia also circulated
last December. But the news came as just as big of a surprise
to Shamrock as anyone else.
“There
was one meeting on the phone with one of their people asking
about a fight doing something like that,” Shamrock said.
“We told them that I wouldn’t do the fight now but
maybe down the road something could happen. But then all of a
sudden there was talk of this fight happening and I didn’t
know anything about it. We were four weeks away from the fight
and I was just finding out. There was a miscommunication there
I believe, messages got crossed up along the way.”
A
list of potential matchups continues to grow, but Shamrock can
only say that Clifton is next. The UFC 1 veteran has been subject
to much scrutiny because he hasn’t won a fight since 2004,
but Shamrock insists he can still fight and will retire on his
own terms.
“When
I lose the will to want to do it and I can’t get past the
injuries,” said Shamrock. “I am healing up. I’m
getting better. I know I’m getting better. But there will
be a point in time where your body just hurts too much. Right
now I feel I’m taking it to some of these guys I’m
training with who hold belts. I know what I’m capable of
doing. I just have to get in there and do it. That’s what
I’m working for right now. The next couple of fights people
are going to get in there and see that and those people are going
to have to jump on those blogs and apologize about my abilities
and my fighting. I will prove them wrong.”
Source: Sherdog
|
Quote
of the Day
"The
greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing
you will make one."
Elbert Hubbard
|
Affliction
"Day of Reckoning" Tomorrow
Honda Center in Anaheim, California
Fight
Card:
Pay-Per-View
Bouts
Fedor
Emelianenko vs. Andrei Arlovski
Josh Barnett vs. Gilbert Yvel
Matt Lindland vs. Vitor Belfort
Renato "Babalu" Sobral vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
Paul Buentello vs. Kiril Sidelnikov
Dan Lauzon vs. Bobby Green
HDNet Bouts
Antonio
Rogerio Nogueira vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
Jay Hieron vs. Jason High
Albert Rios vs. Antonio Duarte
Brett Cooper vs. Patrick Speight
LC Davis vs. Bao Quach
Source: MMA Fighting
|
“Day
of Reckoning” NYC Press Conference
By FCF Staff
A
host of notable faces were in attendance this afternoon at the
Trump Towers in New York City as Affliction Entertainment, M-1
Global, Golden Boy Promotions, and the Trump Organization, held
a press conference to drum up hype for their upcoming January
24th “Day of Reckoning” card in Anaheim, California.
Along side WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko, representatives
from each organization took part in the event, including Donald
Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Affliction’s Tom Atencio, and Golden
Boy’s Oscar De La Hoya. Former UFC light-heavyweight champion
Tito Ortiz, who will provide commentary for the card’s PPV
this weekend, was also on hand.
According
to a news release sent out this afternoon, Emelianenko fielded
questions regarding his game plan for Arlovski, and whether or
not he will look to exchange with the former UFC champion. The
noted striker Arlovski has spent more time furthering his stand-up
skills by training with renowned boxing trainer Freddie Roach.
“I
have never claimed to be the best boxer, technically, in the
world,” Emelianenko was quoted in the release saying. “I
have never made any generalizations about my boxing skills. Mr.
(Freddie) Roach is a great boxing trainer; trained some of the
best. But we will see what happens in the ring this Saturday.”
When
asked to compare fighting for Affliction with Pride the Russian
heavyweight responded;
“I
don’t think there are any differences,” Emelianenko
said. “They are both great organizations. But Pride is in
my past and Affliction is the future. I have had great experiences
with Affliction thus far and I am happy to continue fighting
for M-1 Global and Affliction Entertainment. It is hard to compare
the two organizations. It is two different cultures. The common
thread, though, is that both are class organizations.”
Ortiz’s
presence and upcoming commentating duties have re-fueled speculation
that the free agent fighter may sign with Affliction after all.
Just last year it was widely reported that Ortiz had entered
into contract negotiations with both Affliction and the now defunct
Elite XC.
“I
am very excited to possibly fight for Affliction one day,”
Ortiz was quoted saying. “But for now, as a commentator
on the show, I’ll call it the way I see it. And I am grateful
for the opportunity.”
The
15-6 fighter also offered his thoughts on Fedor as a fighter,
and whether or not he believes the WAMMA champion is the best
heavyweight in the world.
“Yeah!
He’s shown that time and time again he can take a punch
and come back and deliver devastating punches and choke people
out,” Ortiz said. “He’s shown heart and determination
time and again. He’s unstoppable, amazing.”
“Against
Tim Sylvia, Fedor stopped him in 36 seconds,” added Ortiz.
“That’s something no one has ever done before. But
Arlovski is tough too. I think Fedor would have done his homework
by now and he’ll be ready for a fight. We’ll just have
to wait and see who gets their hand raised in the ring come Saturday.”
Source: Full Contact Fighter
|
COWBOY
CERRONE RIDING INTO WEC TITLE FIGHT
by Mitch Gobetz
Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone is finally going to get his
shot at the World Extreme Cagefighting lightweight title against
Jamie “The Worm” Varner. Cerrone is a perfect 9-0 in
his mixed martial arts career and a title shot is the next logical
progression for the Colorado native.
He
has been on a tear through the lightweight division, beating
everyone impressively. Eight of his nine victories have come
by way of submission, five by triangle choke.
The
most recent fight of Cerrone's was a Fight of the Year candidate
between himself and “Razor” Rob McCullough. Both fighters
showed incredible tenacity and exhibited great heart as they
threw down for 15 minutes. If it were up to Cerrone, he'd love
to have fights like that every time.
“I
think that's the best kind of fight ever,” Cerrone said
recently in an interview with MMAWeekly Radio. “I'd do that
every time. To me, if someone is willing to draw a line in the
ring and go toe to toe, that's it. That's fighting bro. I'll
take a submission any day. But if Varner wants to stand there
and draw a line and go toe-to-toe and blast-for-blast, I'm game.
I love that. That's fighting to me.”
Cerrone
credits his fantastic team for his strong performances inside
the cage. Being a product of Greg Jackson's Mixed Martial Arts,
he believes that he is twice the fighter he once was. “When
I first started, the big guys would just trash me. I wouldn't
even have a chance. Now, I can hang with them. It feels great
being on the same level as those guys.”
In
fact, Cerrone is finishing up training with the UFC welterweight
champion Georges St. Pierre up in Montreal. But that's just the
way Jackson's team is. They help all of their fighters train
for every fight to the best of their ability.
“Georges
is part of our team and our whole team is up here. We're like
a floating team. Ever since the first day I walked into Jackson's,
it was like that. Everyone is really inviting,” he explained.
On
top of all of the training, is the man with the game plan, Greg
Jackson who Cerrone believes is a genius. “One of the smartest
guys I know. Intellectually, he boggles me.”
Varner
is on a hot streak of his own though and looks to foil Cerrone's
shot. Varner has finished his last three opponents, including
the man that Cerrone couldn't finish, Rob McCullough. He has
excellent striking and wrestling and poses many threats to Cerrone.
However,
Cerrone doesn't seem to be too rattled by it and looks at this
fight like it was any other opponent. “I look at every fight
the same. It doesn't matter if I'm fighting Jamie or B.J. Penn.
A fight is a fight to me. I'm excited that he's a game opponent.
I look at every opponent the same. I have a lot of respect for
Jamie himself.”
With
the way that both of these top-notch competitors have been fighting
recently, this has the potential to be a real barnburner that
could go either way. Both fighters have a varied arsenal to back
up their solid fundamental skills. If Varner takes it to the
ground, Cerrone has strong jiu-jitsu abilities. If it stays standing,
they both have good hands. Either way, Cerrone is ready for wherever
the fight ends up.
“If
he wants to go to the ground, let's go to the ground,” he
stated. “He wants to stay standing, let's stay standing.
I don't care.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Kyra:
2008 passed with flying colors
Gracie ends the year having fun in the Dead Sea, but analyzes
next season in NY with seriousness.
Kyra
Gracie Guimaraes, 23, ended 2008 in the mud. But is a good way.
Or better yet, in a great way, after all not just any Jiu-Jitsu
black belt, especially female, is invited to compete and stay
in a six-star hotel in Amman, the capital of Jordan, with princess-like
treatment. Treatment that included, on the eve of the championship
organized by Zaid Mirza and Pedro Galiza, an unforgettable trip
to the Dead Sea, where the athlete, boyfriend Leo Leite and faithful
companions Braulio Estima and Lucio Rodrigues didn’t miss
the chance to try a bit of medicinal mud found on its banks.
Whether
or not it’s really good for the skin, one can’t be
sure, but the stuff provided luck. Put up in the hotel with the
country’s “royalty’s special guest” honors,
the 1.69m and 59kg fighter became champion of Capital Challenge.
It was no easy task getting there. The dry climate and air of
the capital were nearly as tough a rival as Brazilian black belt
Carol DeLazzer, runner-up, and Japanese Kanako Inaba, who took
third.
After
conquering yet another trophy and beautiful country, the four-time
Jiu-Jitsu world champion, 2006 Asian champion and two-time ADCC
champion, among other titles, laid out her plans for the year
and summed up 2008, exclusively for GRACIEMAG.com.
What
was you most celebrated title from last year, Kyra? And who was
your toughest adversary?
My most celebrated title was the Worlds, for sure, even more
so for having been kept out of the one the year before, due to
injury. I think my fights in the absolute at the Brazilian Nationals
were the hardest – the very hardest was with Tania Andrade,
also from Gracie Barra. But there’s a new generation coming
in, the girls who are already in the category, it’s even
tough to cite names. Every fight ends up being rough, especially
in the Worlds.
And
for 2009, what are your plans?
I’m back in Brazil, but I’ve been living in an airplane.
I didn’t stop in 2008, I went to the USA, Jordan, United
Arab Emirates, Argentina, Mexico. This year I’ll spend another
season in New York, training for the 2009 ADCC.
Are
you confident about defending you two-time title in Manhattan?
Will it be like fighting “at home?”
Yes, I’m already in the event, since I’m two-time winner
of the category (under 60kg). This year I’ll win at weight
and the absolute. It’s always nice to fight in NY, because
all my students there can watch, and that way I get a lot of
positive energy. And also Renzo will be in my corner.
He’s the best. I see myself becoming more mature each year,
but there’s no comparison: unfortunately I can’t have
Renzo around at every event, if I could I’d never lose a
fight.
You’ve
won pretty much everything, right? What more do you hope to accomplish
in your career? Is the Olympics really in your plans?
I still have a lot to do within Jiu-Jitsu, I’m focused on
winning everything again, more and more. Regarding judo, I started
practicing it and love it, I’ll never stop. Like everything
I do, I want to be the best. With judo it’s no different,
and if I could dedicate myself to judo the Olympics would certainly
be a goal.
What
did you most like about Capital Challenge, in Jordan?
It was one of the best championships I’ve ever fought in.
The treatment of the athletes was first rate, and there’s
no need to even mention the production, it was a true Jiu-Jitsu
show. The mood behind the scenes was excellent, all the athletes
from several teams together, we had dinner, we’d check out
points of tourism, like the city of Petra and the Dead Sea, where
we picked up some good energy in the sea and the mud. It was
good luck for everyone, and out “fantastic four” did
awesome (laughs). It was also cool to meet the athletes away
from competition, I got to know Sergio Moraes’ sense of
humor, Cobrinha’s. It was really fun.
At
the end of 2008, you participated in the Rickson seminar, held
at Club Flamengo, in Rio. What did you make of it?
The seminar is really good; it changed my way of thinking about
Jiu-Jitsu. I learned several basic positions that work really
well, and that I’m trying to incorporate into my game. In
2009, I intend to participate in all nine of the seminars, I’m
more sure to be there than Rickson himself (laughs).
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Drysdale
wants to fight MMA in February
By Erik Engelhart
After
winning his MMA debut, Robert Drysdale wants to be back to the
rings real soon. Training hard at Randy Couture´s gym,
the 2007 ADCC openweight champion wants to fight in February.
“I’m giving classes in my academy, still pulling the
training for beginners and still going at Xtreme Couture to train
almost every day too. I intend to fight MMA in February and I'm
training hard for this, but I didn’t sign any contract until
now. I'm ready just waiting for a proposal", revealed Drysdale,
that also think in ADCC main fight against Roger Gracie, who
has already defeated him twice with gi.
“I
prefer not to comment on my strategy in particular... Without
no-gi is very different, is another sport, then I think I have
everything that I need to win. Without gi my guard is much stronger
and more efficient", said the confident fighter, ensuring
that he has many targets at 2009: "I’ll fight against
Roger at ADCC and I wanna make, at least, three MMA fights and
go after some new athletes for my academy”, finalized.
Source: Tatame
|
UFC
93: Dan Henderson Q & A
Former world champion Dan Henderson headlines in Dublin this
weekend at UFC 93 against fellow American Rich Franklin.
By Gareth A Davies
Still
going strong: Dan Henderson is ready to take on fellow American
Rich Franklin
The winner will coach a team of eight American mixed martial
artists against eight British MMA experts in a 12-week televised
series filmed in Las Vegas.
Those
who lose are eliminated.
The
winners - at lightweight and welterweight - will become The Ultimate
Fighter.
Gareth
A Davies: Do you study your opponents?
Dan
Henderson: I do study them. I look at their tendencies, their
style, get an idea of how they fight. Sometimes I watch tapes
and formulate a plan - sometimes I do see mental aspects I can
exploit in my opponent, or really where they are strong, but
it's mostly technical stuff. Sometimes, though, it's hard to
formulate a plan, because once the fight starts, instinct takes
over with so many guys.
GAD:
Henderson v Franklin at paper, scissors, stone?
DH:
That would be a toss up. Too hard to say.
GAD:
And at chess?
DH:
I'm not bad at chess, I like the strategy. Me on that one, though
Rich knows his maths.
GAD:
Your perfect day?
DH:
That would constitute beating up a lot of different opponents
one after the other in style - though maybe not in reality. A
day with the family, my kids, relaxing. I'm gone a lot on seminars,
or work, or training. I'm home half of the time. But I wouldn't
ever trade what I do for a 9 to 5 job. The big loss is being
away from the family for days at a time on the road.
GAD:
You're 38. Does retirement enter your mind?
DH:
It's hard to know when that moment is. There's a lot of fighters
going through that dilemma. Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, it
must be going through their heads. There's things I want to accomplish
that are attainable in this sport, and if I attain them, it would
probably be a good time to retire. I want to beat Anderson Silva
(the sport's No 1 pound for pounder, who Henderson lost to two
years ago) and I also want to fight for the 205 lb belt. And
then retire.
GAD:
Does being a coach on The Ultimate Fighter appeal?
DH:
I'm looking forward to that opportunity. They have talked about
the winner of myself and Franklin becoming coach for the TUF
team. Coming from an Olympic background, where I have represented
my country, I like the idea of UK versus USA. It makes it fun
for me.
GAD:
What happened with your schooling?
DH:
I never finished College. I was studying Exercise Science. I
was at Arizona State for two years, wrestled there and dropped
out. You know, I was actually pretty good at baseball. I could
probably have made a good hitter and thrower.
GAD:
Choose your weapon in the coliseum in Rome - mace, spear, sword
and shield, two swords, harpoon, net.
DH:
I'm not going to have a sword fight and not have anything in
my other hand, so I'd be a sword and shield guy.
GAD:
How does Greco-Roman wrestling compare to MMA?
DH:
Not a huge stretch from that to MMA. There's a lot more we can
do legally we can't do in wrestling. The training was very rigorous
on my body. It's probably in better shape now than it was then.
We train a little smarter now, and I have to say my body feels
better now than it did when I was wrestling. Fighting three times
a year rather than five times a day in an event, wrestling through
injuries, it does make a difference. Early in my career I fought
three fights in a night. That was the toughest night of competition
I've had.
GAD:
Surprised by growth of the sport around the world?
DH:
I've always thought it was a matter of time and getting enough
eyes on the sport for it to sell and take off.
GAD:
Why a life in sport, and if not, what would you have done?
DH:
All I've ever done is wrestling, sport. I don't know what I would
have done. My dad was a school teacher and a wrestling coach,
my brother's a school teacher, and a good wrestler. My sister's
a great golfer. My dad really pushed all of us. We all went to
College on sports scholarships. I was the only one that didn't
finish
GAD:
So you're the black sheep of the family?
DH:
The only one that didn't finish, though I didn't try to finish.
I was on my way to chiropractor school after the Atlanta Games,
and I decided to keep wrestling, and then took up MMA in 1997.
Now I need chiropractors all the time
GAD:
Sporting event you'd most want to see?
DH:
Pancration (a mix of boxing and wrestling) at the Ancient Olympics.
I'd like to have been there to watch the very first Olympics
way back.
GAD:
Dinner with (preferred guests)...
DH:
The hottest chicks that have ever walked the planet. Ok. Really?
Jeronimo, maybe George Washington, a couple of gladiators.
Source: Fight Opinion/Telegraph UK
|
Hungry
Like a Wolf - Sokoudjou vs. Sobral
Press Release
Seal
Beach, CA (January 20, 2009)—There is only one meaningful
question to ask about the upcoming fight between Babalu and Sokoudjou:
will it be won by strikes or submission? Renato “Babalu”
Sobral (31-7) and Rameau “The African Assassin” Sokoudjou
(5-3) will meet on January 24th at Affliction M1 “Day of
Reckoning” at Honda Center in Anaheim to engage in battle
as part of the event’s main card. The fight pits Babalu’s
well-honed Jiu-Jitsu skills and veteran experience against Sokoudjou’s
exploding strength and dangerously potent striking skills. Both
fierce combatants attack with an animal ferocity that combines
technique and heart in a brutal assault on opponents.
Famous
for his grappling prowess, relentless fighting style, and high-caliber
submissions in the ring, Brazilian import “Babalu”
Sobral is a six-foot one, two hundred and five pound Black Belt
in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu who shows no mercy in the ring. Out of
the ring, Sobral follows one of the most intense training regimens,
ranging from lifting weights (even bench-pressing fellow workout
partners), to running up steep mountains, and swimming over 2000
yards in one hour.
A
Brazilian National wrestling champion and trained in Ruas Vale
Tudo, Sobral is a member of the famed Gracie Barra Combat Team.
He is very comfortable in the ring, and has already faced some
of the toughest competitors in the sport, including “Day
of Reckoning” headliner, Fedor Emelianenko.
A
force to be reckoned with, Babalu is coming off of his fourth
straight victory—a win over Bobby Southworth that crowned
him the new Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion. The match
against Sokoudjou will be his second for Affliction, having defeated
Mike Whitehead as part of the promotion's debut in July 2008.
With his numerous wins over significant competitors, he will
present his opponent with a serious challenge on fight night.
Cameroonian
mixed martial artist and Judo practitioner Rameau Sokoudjou is
known for his quickness, lethal striking ability, and natural
athleticism. Early on in his career, Sokoudjou’s mettle
was tested when he was pitted against very high profile competitors.
He had been in only three pro fights before debuting at PRIDE®
33 against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. Nogueira was the heavy favorite,
but Sokoudjou KO’d him only twenty-three seconds into the
bout.
Fans
reeled with excitement over the upset. Soon everyone was eager
to see Sokoudjou’s next fight, wanting to find out if he
had just landed a lucky punch or
if
he was the real deal. But Sokoudjou won his next bout, and quickly
found himself one of the most talked about fighters on the scene.
“The African Assassin” moved quickly up the ranks due
to his impressive early performances in these difficult bouts.
Since
then, Sokoudjou, who trains with Dan Henderson’s Team Quest
gym, has suffered some upsets that have left fans wondering about
his long term prospects. Now,with eight professional bouts under
his belt and three loses on his record, Sokoudjou has to prove
that he can sustain good performances over the long run. But
at only twenty-four years of age, he has plenty of time to do
just that.
Both
competitors have everything at stake for the January 24th event.
Babalu’s career encountered a road bump after a controversial
end to a fight in which he held on to a choke too long. Sokoudjou
needs to redeem himself from his recent inconsistent performances.
Both need to win in order to prove themselves and earn the fans’
continued trust.
Babalu’s
unquestioning confidence, ease in the ring, and superior ground
skills will be Sokoudjou’s Achilles’ heel, and may
lead to his defeat. But if the younger fighter can pace himself
and keep up his cardio, he just may score a KO against Sobral
with his powerful strikes. Fans can count on these two ferocious
competitors to be at their best and to pour their souls into
a clash worthy of hungry warriors battling it out for their very
existence.
Source: The Fight Network
|
Raising
Sacramento
by Chris Yucus
If he gets his way, former World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight
champion Urijah Faber will turn the capital city of Sacramento,
Calif., into the fight capital of the world.
He’s
already opened a pair of gyms under the Ultimate Fitness banner
and surrounded himself with neighbors from whom he would just
as soon borrow a pair of mixed martial arts gloves as a cup of
sugar.
“Our
block is pretty fun,” Faber says. “We’ve got five
houses now; one of my other buddies just bought a house,”
says Faber.
Of
the 16 occupants in the houses, “the vast majority are fighters
or somehow related,” Faber says. “There’s five
houses and a bunch of like-minded folks around; we find a lot
of fun.”
Faber’s
clan of like-minded folks includes UFC fighter Justin Buchholz,
WEC fighters Danny Castillo and Joseph Benavidez and a slew of
others involved in the fight trade.
“It’s
great; a lot of us come from different family backgrounds,”
says Buchholz, who will take on Terry Etim at UFC 95 on Feb.
21 in London. “I’m from Alaska, one of my roommates
is from Florida … Master Thong, he’s from Thailand;
he’s my roommate, too. And Dustin [Akbari] is from Iran,
so we’ve got some international flavor in my house.”
Faber
says the group shares living spaces and resources, creating quite
a compound for members of his Team Alpha Male fight club.
“It’s
amazing; we’ve got a little bit of everything,” he
says. “[In] one house, the whole wall is like a big movie
screen. We have another house with a big pool and a spa. [In]
one house, we have a lot of meals, and there’s TVs everywhere.
We carpool to work and share responsibilities. It’s a cool
thing; it’s a cool deal. We’re all young guys trying
to succeed.”
Buchholz
admits Faber keeps a close eye on all the people on the block.
Faber
is hoping to bounce back against Jens Pulver.“Urijah is
basically like the mother hen,” he says. “We’ve
got people on our block that are training who are as young as
18. There’s a lot of temptation, a lot of vices around for
an 18-year-old around the compound. So when anyone starts slipping
up or getting out of line or something, Urijah will usually call
us all in, or if someone misses practice, we’ll have a long
conversation about what they were doing, where they were at,
that kind of deal.”
Faber
(21-2) draws upon the resources of his fight team while he prepares
for his upcoming rematch with former UFC lightweight champion
Jens Pulver at WEC 38 this Sunday at the San Diego Sports Arena
in San Diego, Calif. A second bout with Pulver (22-10-1) -- who
has dropped his past two fights, by decision to Faber and by
technical knockout to Leonard Garcia -- was not necessarily what
Faber was expecting when talked turned to his next challenge.
“I
was kind of surprised when they first told me I was going to
be doing the rematch, but I’m a fan of great fights, and
I know we had a great one last time,” Faber says. “I
know that Jens is a tough fighter. He’s dangerous. I’m
excited for it. I’m excited for every fight. I don’t
know if this is the most logical fight for the time, but we’re
both coming off losses, so you could make an argument for that.”
Faber
recently returned from a training session in Brazil with some
of his teammates.
“My
jiu-jitsu instructor, Fabio Prado, had some stuff set up for
us with some high-level jiu-jitsu players and also some kickboxing
instructing,” Faber says. “I had nine of my guys from
Team Alpha Male out there with us, so we all put together some
great practices.”
“We
rolled with jiu-jitsu black belts, world champion black belts,
and Faber not only hung with all of them, he submitted about
half of them or more,” Buchholz says. “These are guys
who are 180 pounds, and all they do is jiu-jitsu.”
Aside
from the trip to Brazil, Faber claims he has approached his rematch
with Pulver like any other fight.
“I
haven’t done anything specifically to train differently
for this fight, other than I’m fighting a southpaw, kind
of gearing towards that a little bit,” he says.
Faber
did not feel the need to alter his training regimen after he
lost his belt to Mike Thomas Brown at WEC 36 in November. The
defeat -- his first since 2005 -- snapped a 13-fight winning
streak.
“In
reviewing that fight, I felt I was in great shape and I was doing
well,” Faber says. “I just made one mistake. I’m
going to be a little more cautious and not make that same mistake
twice. It was just a reminder this sport is for real, and I’m
not invincible, so I’ve got to use it to motivate myself
and keep improving because that’s what this sport’s
about.”
Buchholz
believes the loss to Brown rekindled some of the fire in Faber’s
training.
“He’s
hungry; he got woke up,” Buchholz says. “It seemed
like he was kind of in a funk, like, ‘I’m just going
to go in there and win like always and continue being the best.’
He still trained a million times harder than the average bear,
but for Urijah, it wasn’t the same, and now he’s got
that hunger back.”
Another
win over Pulver will likely give Faber a chance to reclaim the
WEC’s featherweight title against either Brown or Garcia,
who are set to square off against each other at WEC 39 in March.
“I
think I’m in title contention right now,” Faber says.
“I don’t think they would have had a problem giving
me a rematch right away, but Mike Brown was injured and I’m
hungry to fight, and I didn’t really feel like waiting a
whole half a year to fight again. Being a longtime champion and
putting in my time, I think I deserve another shot. I think for
sure beating Jens will put me there.”
Source: Sherdog
|
Coleman
returns; he just can't use his head butt
Former Ohio State wrestler from Hilliard gives the sport another
shot at 44
By Rob Oller
THE
COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Oh for the days when a man was rewarded for ramming his forehead
into another man's skull.
Mark
Coleman misses that edgier era of extreme fighting, in part because
the head butt, once one of his best moves, was outlawed nearly
a decade ago per the rules of mixed martial arts.
"I
miss the rawness. If you go back and watch earlier fights, you'll
never see anything like those again," said Coleman, the
former Ohio State wrestler whose career in Ultimate Fighting
Championship -- the world's largest MMA organization -- began
in 1996. After several detours, the 44-year-old from Hilliard
resumes his career Saturday in Dublin, Ireland, in a light heavyweight
undercard bout against 27-year-old Mauricio Rua of Brazil.
Although
the old days might have been good, the present days are better,
Coleman said.
For
one thing, extreme fighting has become somewhat fashionable.
The sport, in which fighters attempt to beat one another into
submission with kicks and punches, has become more fashionable
since the pioneer days of the 1990s. It might not be fully embraced
by critics who consider it nothing more than barbarism, but MMA
is maturing toward mainstream -- just like Coleman, who credits
parenthood with mellowing him.
It
has been a long road for the former NCAA wrestling champion,
who conceded that at the beginning of his MMA career he was a
glorified barroom brawler with wrestling skills.
"It's
a street fight except no chairs and no bottles. ... It's a lot
more than taking a guy down and punching him in the face, but
so far that's been my version," Coleman said during a 1996
interview when he was one of the top talents in Ultimate Fighting
Championship.
Winning
came easily then -- too easily. Coleman blamed three straight
losses in 1997 on overconfidence and anterior cruciate ligament
surgery he had returned from too quickly.
Then
there were the rules changes, including no more head-butting,
which negatively affected Coleman's talents. Wrestlers once dominated
the sport, because they would put opponents on the ground and
pound them with hands and elbows. But as limitations on permissible
striking areas increased in the late 1990s, the effectiveness
of Coleman's "ground and pound" techniques decreased.
Suddenly,
it wasn't as easy to "take a guy to the ground and pound
the (bleep) out of him until he quits," he said.
"When
they took out the head butt, it made the jujitsu game (a form
of ground fighting) more effective. It completely changed the
sport so for a while there, I was a little bit lost. As fast
as I climbed to the top, I fell to the bottom just as fast."
The
downward spiral culminated with UFC dropping Coleman from its
ranks. He responded by moving to Japan to compete in the PRIDE
Fighting Championships, but the organization hit hard times in
2006 and has since been purchased by UFC.
A
win Saturday would continue to pull the 6-foot-1, 205-pound Coleman
off the back burner. He was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame
last year -- an honor gained from having become the organization's
first heavyweight champion in 1996 when he competed at 250 pounds.
He also would become something of a novelty, as George Foreman
was to boxing, if he could get past Rua, whom he defeated three
years ago after breaking the Brazilian's arm during a PRIDE bout.
Coleman,
15-8 overall in MMA and 6-3 in UFC, has not fought in two years.
"I'm
hearing the 'old' word quite a bit, but I use that as motivation,"
he said. "I've taken good care of my body and have been
very fortunate with injuries, only two surgeries, so I've been
blessed. Anyway, age is just a number."
Mike
DiSabato, who helps sponsor Coleman through his company that
markets apparel, marvels at the fighter.
"Mark
is a freak of nature. He looks and trains like athletes half
his age," DiSabato said.
Another
former Buckeye wrestler and MMA fighter, Kevin Randleman, has
trained with Coleman for years. He said anyone who thinks Coleman
is too old for UFC better think again.
"A
lot of people expect Mark to get tired, but from what I've seen
he's mentally and physically strong as ever. I believe with all
my heart that he'll succeed," Randleman said.
If
he doesn't, it won't be the end of the world, because time and
tenderness have mellowed the man who goes by the handle of "Hammer."
"The
day my kids were born was the day I mellowed out big time,"
he said. "It changed my life. I would now call myself a
father first and fighter second. My girls (Mckenzie, 11, and
Morgan, 9) are my life and motivation."
The
girls are supportive of their father's fighting, he said.
"We
try not to look at the negative aspects of the sport and try
to stay positive," he said. "They think their dad is
'the man.' And if I do lose a fight, they always come up with
some kind of excuse why I lost. Usually, it's the other guy cheated."
Win
or lose, Coleman won't get cheated this time. He's thankful he's
getting a second chance with UFC -- he's signed to a four-fight
contract -- and expects to make the most of it.
"I'd
say it's in my blood," he said. "No need or reason
to give it up."
roller@dispatch.com
Source: Fight Opinion/Buckeyextra
|
FEDOR
LATEST TO JOIN ROUND 5 ACTION FIGURES
Press Release courtesy of Round 5
Known across the world and considered by many to be the best
fighter in the sport of mixed martial arts today, Russian star
Fedor Emelianenko of M-1 Global has partnered with Round 5, the
leader in collectible MMA figurines, to create a piece to be
made available later this year. The heavyweight joins an All-Star
lineup of 12 MMA standouts who currently work with Round 5 to
produce their respective figures.
The
announcement comes on the heels of last week’s notice that
stars Andrei “The Pit Bull” Arlovski – Fedor’s
opponent in this Saturday’s Affliction “Day of Reckoning”
event – will be one of four stars to be featured in Round
5’s Series 3 release this spring, along with “Big John”
McCarthy, Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro”
Nogueira. Series 3 is scheduled to be available beginning in
April.
Fedor
and the Round 5 team will begin work on creating his figurine
in the coming weeks. The Fedor figures will be part of a future
Series issue to be determined.
“This
is a tremendous opportunity for me,” said Emelianenko. “I
am looking forward to going through the process of making this
the best figurine that we can. I think fans will appreciate that
I will have a big role in how it looks and will enjoy the final
product.”
“We
are thrilled to be working with Fedor to customize this superstar’s
figurine,” said Damon Lau, Round 5 President. “His
worldwide popularity and recognition as the world’s best
mixed martial artist make him a natural to make a high-quality
collectible that his many fans can enjoy. The timing of his signing
is perfect, too, as he will be competing in the highly-anticipated
bout with another Round 5 athlete in Andrei Arlovski this weekend.”
Emelianenko,
32, has been the most dominant MMA heavyweight this decade. He
enters the bout with Arlovski with a record of 28-1, including
25 straight victories dating back to December 2000. A long-time
PRIDE champion, he won his Affliction debut by submitting Tim
Sylvia just 36 seconds into the first round in his last action
this past July.
Other
MMA stars who have worked with Round 5 include Randy Couture,
Matt Hughes, Quinton Rampage Jackson and Tito Ortiz (Series 1);
and Rich Franklin, Sean Sherk, Anderson Silva and Wanderlei Silva
(Series 2).
As
in the earlier Series, Fedor will maintain creative control of
his likenesses, including the pose, facial design and shorts.
He will have a major hand in creating the final design and will
benefit from a royalty agreement that gives him a considerable
portion of the proceeds from the sale of his unit.
In
addition to Fedor, Round 5 plans to release collectibles of three
additional series of athletes in 2009, one during each quarter.
Other athletes to be represented in those series are yet to be
announced.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Monson
Arrested for Domestic Violence
by Loretta Hunt
Former UFC heavyweight contender and professed anarchist Jeff
Monson remains incarcerated at the Davies County Detention Center
on Wednesday, after he was arrested Monday night on domestic
violence and property damage charges in Advance, N.C.
Authorities
were called to the residence of Stephanie Trapani, 30, and detained
Monson for “assault to a female” and “damage to
property” following an alleged domestic dispute, said Capt.
Hartman of Davies County Sheriff’s Office. Trapani and Monson
had a “dating relationship,” said Hartman.
Trapani
was also arrested for damage to Monson’s property. The Olympian
reported Monday that Trapani had discarded Monson’s cell
phone after finding out he was involved in romantic relationships
with other women.
On
the fighter’s voicemail message, a female’s voice notified
callers that Monson had “lost” his cell phone and to
leave detailed contact information.
Capt.
Hartman said Trapani posted bail on Monday and has obtained a
50B contact order, denying the fighter “any contact whatsoever”
with Trapani.
“He
destroyed my house," Trapani told The Olympian on Monday.
"He started just bashing holes in the walls and the columns."
Trapani
said Monson also grabbed her during the argument.
Monson’s
bail has been set at $22,000, though Davies County Sheriff’s
Office said a magistrate or judge could decide to hold the fighter
further for extradition after they were contacted by Washington
officials on a separate charge.
A
warrant for Monson’s arrest remains active in Washington,
where the fighter has been charged with first-degree malicious
mischief for spray-painting the peace sign, the anarchy symbol,
and the phrases “No war” and “No poverty”
on the state’s capital building on Nov. 26.
ESPN
The Magazine documented Monson’s protest while trailing
the politically minded fighter for a feature that ran in its
Dec. 29 issue. Monson was documented defacing the monument in
one of the article’s accompanying photographs, which led
Washington officials to the suspect. The act carries a maximum
penalty of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.
Monson
(27-8) told Sherdog.com last Thursday that he hadn’t regretted
his protest and that he’d intended to turn himself in to
authorities before his separate arrest Monday. The decorated
world grappling champion said he didn’t believe his pending
arrest for vandalism would taint his career and that he’d
planned to fight next for World Victory Road’s “Sengoku”
promotion this March in Japan.
Source: Sherdog
|
Quote
of the Day
“The
foolish man seeks happiness in the distance, the wise grows it
under his feet.”
James Oppenheim
|
JEFF
CURRAN VS. JOSEPH BENAVIDEZ SET FOR APRIL 5 WEC
A pivotal bantamweight match-up has been confirmed for the upcoming
World Extreme Cagefighting card set for April 5, as former featherweight
contender, Jeff "Big Frog" Curran takes on up and coming
star, Joseph Benavidez, in a 135lb contest that could determine
the next title contender.
The
fight was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by sources close to the
fight on Monday.
While
the fight between Curran and Benavidez is set to go, the card
slated for an April 5 date has not been officially announced
by the WEC and no location is known for the show at this time.
Making
his official MMA debut at 135lbs, Curran will look to establish
himself quickly in a growing division that currently has Miguel
Torres perched as the champion and one of the top pound for pound
fighters in the world.
Curran
last fought in June 2007 losing a decision to eventual 145lb
champion, Mike Brown, and after the bout, the veteran fighter
announced his intentions to drop to the bantamweight division.
Originally
slated to fight in December, Curran suffered an injury that forced
him out of his bout and now he is set to return in April with
a very tough opponent as his first test at 135lbs.
Joseph
Benavidez is a major prospect who debuted with the WEC in December,
defeating Danny Martinez by unanimous decision.
A
training partner of former featherweight king Urijah Faber, Benavidez
made a splash last year when he was set to face popular Japanese
fighter, Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto, in Dream, but when
an injury subdued his opponent, he instead submitted replacement
Junya Kudo in impressive fashion.
The
fight between Curran and Benavidez is set to take place the same
night a rumored bout between Torres and Brian Bowles for the
135lb title is set to take place, and the winner of the afore
mentioned fight should be in line for the next title shot.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Gesias
might be back at Dream in April
After
the frustration of traveling to Japan, hitting the weight and
ending without fighting at K-1 Dynamite, Gesias Cavalcante guarantees
that the "hangover" has been gone. The ATT’s athlete
arrived this week at Rio de Janeiro and expects to relax after
a very troubled 2008. "I'm on vacation. I came to spend
two weeks to relax", said Gesias, that commented the episode
that happened with Dream’s GP champion, Joachim Hansen,
that didn’t entered on the ring on December 31st.
"It’s
part of the job what happened to Hansen. A day before the fight
someone told me that he was sick, he had passed out. On the day
of the event they took his medical examination, took the plate
of his head and it had some problem, therefore they banned him
from the fight. But to be honest, until now I don’t know
what happened, but he stayed in the hospital, because he couldn’t
even catch a plane to go back home", said.
Despite
not having fought, after much work to recover the knee surgery,
Gesias is conformed. “It’s better that this happened,
that he hasn’t fought, than have something happen over the
ring. At the time I was angry, but I saw that the guy had a problem.
I was solidary to him", revealed the two times Hero's champion,
who spoke of his recovery.
"I
didn’t fight the whole year because of the injury, the doctors
said I was going to take some time to return. It was a year of
recovery and in less time I came back and began to train at a
high level. I ate, slept, and train, all depending on the knee.
In three months everybody was chocked with my recovery. After
training hard to get there, I ended without fighting. But the
good thing is that in the next e I'll be 100% ready, I already
gave back on top and I'm even more confident".
Gesias’s
expectation now is to fight at Dream’s April edition. "I
may return to fight in March or April. The most certain is in
April, but I still don’t have a date and even the opponent.
I know that it won’t be against Hansen, because he will
be away for at least six months and it won’t happen a tournament
in my category this years, because the Dream will do featherweight
and welterweight tournaments", finalized Gesias.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Darrel
Gohlar and the Wrestling at ATT
If
American Top Team already had some of the best MMA coaches and
athletes, the Wrestilng training now has a big enforcement. One
of the greatest Wrestling coaches of the world, that have already
trained athletes like Paulo Filho, Rodrigo Minotauro, Ricardo
Arona, Dan Henderson and many others, Darrel Gohlar is commanding
the team training in the United States.
"All
the coaches are great and now we have Darrel Gohlar, whose teaching
American Wrestling techniques for us for two months. Everybody
is very happy with his training, not only because of the impressive
techniques that he has, but because he puts everybody to scream
all the time during the training", revealed Jorge Santiago,
Sengoku’s middleweight champion. "We have Conan and
Libório in MMA, Parrumpinha and Libório in Jiu-Jitu,
Benkei as physical coach... It’s better than ever",
finalized.
Source: Tatame
|
Busta
on Toquinho’s win
“He overcame…,” says coach
Rousimar
Toquinho’s coach, Murilo Bustamante was in his pupil’s
corner at UFC 93, in Ireland this last Saturday, January 17th.
After a tough battle with Jeremy Horn, won by decision, Toquinho
told of how in the opening round he broke his hand. Bustamante
commented:
“He
had an X-ray at the hospital and they said he didn’t break
it, but his hand is really injured and swollen. Sometimes the
break only turns up on the X-ray after 15 days, because the swelling
covers it up. I’ve broken my hand before, had an X-ray taken
and they said it wasn’t broken, so we’ll only really
know after some time. But he really hurt his hand badly, and
that hampered his fight. But it was good it happened, what was
important was how he overcame it and didn’t complain at
any time and carried on fighting a very experienced guy, who
has fought the most of anybody in the world,” said Murilo
in praise of his student, in a chat with Portal das Lutas.
After
losing to Dan Henderson in his previous fight, Bustamante believes
his pupil assimilated the setback and learned from it. Against
Horn, he saw a more mature Toquinho.
“I
think the fight was great, a 15-minute fight for him to gain
more experience. He’s already improved a lot since his last
fight. He walked better, listened more. He’s getting better
with every fight. Horn fought really well, studied Toquinho’s
game well and fought on defense. Toquinho is at an evolution
stage and each fight we’re going to seek to improve him
as much as possible,” said Murilo.
“The
fight served for him to overcome. If he’d finished in the
first round, he wouldn’t have gained that experience. He
tired a bit in the second round, because he accelerated in the
first. The third to me was his best, he fought with more awareness,
administered the fight and dominated. This fight was fundamental
for his career,” he finished.
Source: Tatame
|
'Fedor:
The Baddest Man on the Planet' FSN Special
A one-hour documentary on Fedor Emelianenko called "Fedor:
The Baddest Man on the Planet" will air Tuesday, Jan. 20
on Fox Sports Net.
Presented
through the channel's "Best Damn" series, the special
is being listed as "The Best Damn Top 50 Special (The Fedor
Special)" on listings. Check you local listings for airtime.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Roy
Jones Jr. to headline boxing/MMA card
It's
the closest you'll see Roy Jones Jr. in a mixed martial arts
card. The former boxing champ will headline a boxing/MMA card
on March 21 in Pensacola, Florida.
Jones
Jr. will fight Omar Sheika in a light-heavyweight boxing bout,
ESPN confirmed today.
Jones
Jr. had spoken about going head-to-head against UFC middleweight
champ Anderson Silva, but only in a boxing fight. Both parties
wanted the fight but the UFC didn't want to accept the risk of
one of its top stars today losing to the aging legend.
The
card being promoted Jones' Square Ring company will feature mixed
martial arts fights to be announced.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Jeff
Monson in jail but not for vandalism
Former UFC heavyweight title contender Jeff Monson was jailed
Monday at the Davie County Jail in North Carolina, but not for
vandalism.
A
warrant for the the fighter's arrest was issued last week after
he was charged with first-degree malicious mischief for vandalizing
the Washington State Capital.
According
to Jeremy Pawloski of The Olympian, Monson was jailed for a separate
incident on suspicion of "assault on a female and injury
to real property."
The
woman, a fight gear model, found evidence Monson had been unfaithful
and angrily tossed away his cellphone. While packing his bags
at her home, and upon learning his cell phone had been thrown
away, Monson allegedly flipped out and damaged her home.
Source: MMA Fighting |
Quote
of the Day
“We
should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a thing.
Action always generates inspiration. Inspiration seldom generates
action.”
Frank Tibolt
|
Fighters'
Club TV Tuesdays!
Channel
52
NEW TIME of 8:00 PM!
If
you are not on the Onzuka.com Hawaii Ground forum, you are missing
the latest news from upcoming events, get to rub elbows with
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on any subject you can dream up. Hit the links above to sign
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|
SHOGUN
PROMISES BETTER RETURN
From the outset of UFC 93’s post-fight press conference,
it was clear Mauricio “Shogun” Rua had many questions
to answer.
While
he managed to stop former UFC heavyweight champion Mark Coleman
in the final seconds of their co-main event fight, his gas tank
ran empty after just one round with the 44 year-old Hall of Famer.
Widely
regarded as the number one light heavyweight in the world at
the time of Pride Fighting Championship’s collapse, Rua
again appeared to be a shell of the fighter who dominated opponents
in Japan.
Rua
said two knee injuries sustained in 2007 and 2008 took more from
him than he could have anticipated.
“I
stayed sidelined for a year and a half,” explained Rua.
“I went through surgeries and that was not easy. So that
took a lot of my conditioning. It’s one thing to train,
and another to fight, and when you get back to fighting you’ve
got to get back in rhythm. So I think I paid a price because
of that.”
Had
Coleman not been equally unprepared, the outcome might have been
far worse. But Rua said he was unsurprised when he was taken
down repeatedly in the fight, even as his foe was exhausted.
“I
didn’t get surprised at all because I knew that Coleman
was a really strong guy, and also I knew that he’s a great
wrestler,” said Rua. “I fought him three years ago,
so I already had a strong sense of his strength as a wrestler
and his power, and I knew that it would be a hard fight.”
For
a fighter with a lesser name, the performance might have cost
him a trip to the bench, if not a pink slip. But UFC president
Dana White, perhaps wanting to satisfy a match-up long dreamed
by fans, offered the Brazilian a main event against Chuck Liddell
at UFC 97 in April. Rua was quick to promise a better showing
next time out.
“I’m
sure by my next fight I will be more prepared (and) in better
shape, and better conditioning to give my fans a great show,”
he said.
Rua
says he will take his comeback as slowly as one can for an April
return against one of the sport’s hardest punchers. Saturday’s
performance did not quash his dreams of UFC gold, no matter what
the feedback.
“Obviously
my dream, as any fighter, is to have the UFC belt,” he said.
“But I know that my weight class is full of great fighters—the
toughest weight class in the world right now in MMA—so all
I have to think about is my next fight. I have to focus on my
next fight, train for my next fight, take one step at a time.
I’m a guy with many dreams. Thank god I was able to fulfill
a number of those dreams already, and I hope to keep fulfilling
the other dreams that I have.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Affliction
2 'Day of Reckoning' Preview
Affliction 2: Day of Reckoning will come to us all live on January
24, 2009, from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The first
Affliction event brought us Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Sylvia
plus one of the more solid heavyweight undercards ever. What
would the second bring?
How
about Fedor Emelianenko vs. Andrei Arlovski in one of those PRIDE
vs. UFC dream match ups from so long ago? Talk about fireworks.
Not to even mention the bouts between Matt Lindland and the always
dangerous Vitor Belfort and Vladimir Matyushenko and Antonio
Rogerio Nogueira.
Fedor
Emelianenko (28-1) vs. Andrei Arlovski (14-5): Fedor is widely
considered to be the best heavyweight MMA fighter in the world
because of his well-roundedness. We’re talking about a guy
that is one of the stronger pound for pound heavyweights in the
world. On top of that, he has above average jiu jitsu/ submission
skills, a lot of power on his feet (ask Tim Sylvia), outstanding
takedowns and takedown defense, solid technique on his feet,
and his ground and pound—keyword= pound—is scary.
Beyond
the fact that he rarely uses kicks for any type of offense, there
isn’t much else to say other than he has tremendous heart
and always comes into fights with an excellent game plan.
Andrei
Arlovski has won five straight and is on fire. Along with this,
he may have the best pure boxing skills of any heavyweight in
MMA right now. He hits fast, hard, and with solid technique.
Arlovski also has solid takedown defense, is very strong, and
has the kind of fast acting submission skills that can catch
you on the ground if you’re not ready from the outset.
That
said, Arlovski isn’t made to be on his back very long. His
weakness would seem to lie in his pure jiu jitsu skills, though
it’s tough to say because he never really ends up on his
back or the ground for any length of time.
Prediction:
If this fight stays standing for too long, Arlovski will likely
win. He’s faster and probably too strong for Fedor in a
technical sense. That means that Fedor will likely come in with
the game plan of taking his opponent down and grinding him down
with ground and pound (the old Fedor).
Will
it work? Well, it only hasn’t worked for Fedor once, even
if this probably is his toughest test to date. And that says
a lot. Still. . .
Fedor
Emelianenko wins via TKO in round two.
Matt
Lindland (21-5) vs. Vitor Belfort (17-8): Belfort has won three
straight. Along with this, he has above average jiu jitsu to
go along with some of the fastest and most lethal hands in the
division. Belfort also has solid takedown defense and takedown
skills.
In
terms of weaknesses, the word on him has always been that if
you push him too far he may crack. In other words, make it a
war of the wills.
Matt
Lindland hasn’t fought all that often recently. Still, he’s
one of the better wrestlers in the division. Along with this,
his takedowns, takedown defense, ground control, and ground and
pound skills are stellar. He’s also quite tough, and has
improved his stand up skills significantly. In terms of submissions,
Lindland is above average.
But
in his last fight he didn’t look like he used to and recently
tried to get elected to congress. Has too much of his time been
devoted elsewhere recently?
Prediction:
This is a tough one. I thought about going with Belfort, in fact,
via KO. But in the end, Belfort will likely have difficulty stopping
Lindland from taking him down and that will be the difference
here.
Matt
Lindland wins via unanimous decision.
THE
REST
Josh
Barnett (23-5) vs. Gilbert Yvel (35-12-1): Gilbert Yvel has posted
30 (T)KO’s during his career. In other words, he’s
as threatening as they come from a stand up perspective. Barnett
is very good on his feet, even if he fails in comparison to Yvel
there. But on the ground, he’s as good as they come. Figure
that Barnett’s strong wrestling will land this fight on
the ground.
Josh
Barnett wins via first round submission.
Vladimir
Matyushenko (21-3) vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (15-3): This
is actually one of the best fights on the card, even if it isn’t
getting much fanfare. Nogueira has solid stand up and excellent
submission skills. Matyushenko has won eight straight and is
unbelievably powerful with outstanding wrestling. So if Matyushenko
takes Nogueira down what happens?
Keep
in mind, of course, that Matyushenko has never lost by way of
submission.
Vladimir
Matyushenko wins by way of unanimous decision.
Chris
Horodecki (12-1) vs. Dan Lauzon (11-2): Lauzon has won seven
straight by stoppage and can fight both on his feet and the ground.
However, he hasn’t been in there with a lot of stellar competition
as of yet. Horodecki demonstrates outstanding stand up technique
with significant power. He’s also a cardio machine. But
Ryan Schultz showed that the recipe to beat him was strong wrestling
and powerful ground and pound.
Thinking
upset here.
Dan
Lauzon by way of unanimous decision.
Renato
“Babalu” Sobral (31-7) vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
(5-3): Sokoudjou is ridiculously powerful and has demonstrated
that on numerous occasions with his stand up. But he has faltered
in the later rounds of his two most recent losses. Guess is that
Sobral will survive for long enough to push the fight to the
second and third stanzas.
Babalu
wins by way of second round submission.
Jay
Hieron (16-4) vs. Jason High (6-0): Both guys have solid skills,
but Hieron has been in there on the big stage against far better
competition.
Jay
Hieron wins via third round TKO.
Albert
Rios (10-3) vs. Antonio Duarte (11-1): Both of these guys are
well-rounded submission fighters. When all else fails, go with
the guy with the better record.
Antonio
Duarte wins by way of a close decision.
Brett
Cooper (7-4) vs. Patrick Speight (7-1): Speight hits hard and
is coming off of a decision loss. Cooper is on a four fight winning
streak and has come up against some solid competition in the
past.
Brett
Cooper wins by way of unanimous decision.
Paul
Buentello (26-10) vs. Kirill Sidelnikov (5-2): Buentello has
strong stand up skills but has been on somewhat of a downward
turn recently. Sidelnikov is a Red Devil fighter with strong
stand up as well. Go with the more experienced guy here.
Paul
Buentello wins by way of third round TKO.
LC
Davis (12-1) vs. Bao Quach (15-8-1): These guys are both solid
and have been hot. Davis may be the more well-rounded fighter,
though.
LC
Davis wins by way of decision.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Arlovski
hopes to cash in against Fedor
Andrei
Arlovski finds himself in a unique position on Saturday night
when he faces Fedor Emelianenko, generally considered the sport’s
best heavyweight, in a five-round match for the World Alliance
of Mixed Martial Arts title.
The
former UFC heavyweight champion left the organization last year
to take one of the most lucrative MMA contracts in history from
upstart Affliction.
Arlovski’s
contracted pay was $170,000 for his final UFC fight last March,
where he stopped Jake O’Brien. Arlovski received $500,000
to win and a $250,000 winning bonus for his first bout with the
new organization, his TKO of Ben Rothwell in July.
With
escalator clauses in his contract, his fight in the main event
of Affliction’s Saturday pay-per-view card at the Honda
Center in Anaheim, Calif., will pay him in excess of $1 million,
a number confirmed by UFC officials, who had right of first refusal
on Arlovski’s new contract.
The
windfall is wonderful if you’re Arlovski, but Affliction
has largely built its brand on Emelianenko’s mystique. After
canceling a second show in October and with reported slow ticket
sales for Saturday’s card, even if this week’s promotional
blitz does render great results, the long-term viability of the
promotion is in question.
Even
if Arlovski achieves his goal, which is to be viewed as the best
in the world, it could come at the company’s expense. But
Arlovski is only focused on the fight at the moment, not the
financials.
“If
you want to be the best fighter, you have to fight the best fighter,”
said Arlovski. “We’ll find out who’s better. For
this fight I have to be mentally prepared. He’s a human.
I used to think nobody can beat me, and then Tim Sylvia beat
me twice.”
Arlovski,
on paper, figures to give Emelianenko his toughest test in at
least three years. The former UFC heavyweight champion is a nearly
4-to-1 underdog as the challenger.
Emelianenko
(28-1 with 1 no-contest), who hasn’t tasted defeat in his
last 26 fights in a sport that doesn’t lend itself to long
winning streaks, has become an almost mythological figure in
the sport. He’s only fought twice in the U.S., and in the
past four years has had only two fights against what would be
considered legitimate top-ranked opposition at the time.
But
just when his detractors started the “overrated” and
“what has he done in the past few years” call, he decimated
former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia on July 19 in 36 seconds,
shutting people up cold.
Emelianenko
is often compared to a young Mike Tyson, both because of his
punching power and in the sense that his aura is so intimidating,
people have mentally lost the fight before it ever starts.
“I
do feel more pressure because he’s a champion,” said
Arlovski. “And of course, I’m a little bit nervous.
It’s the biggest fight of my career and I will do my best,
and I will do everything possible to beat him because he’s
No. 1. I am ranked No. 4 or 5, and I want to be the best fighter.
“I
take this as a great opportunity to fight the No. 1 guy and I
feel I can beat him. It means a lot to me. Everybody wants to
see an exciting fight, and I think we will show a great fight.”
Arlovski
has enlisted the help of famed boxing trainer Freddie Roach for
the fight. Roach has pushed Arlovski, who held the UFC heavyweight
title for 14 months in 2005 and 2006, and his sport, boxing,
as the method to topple the king.
From
a technical standpoint, Emelianenko is not a boxer. But in a
stand-up fight, nobody has ever gotten the better of him, including
Mirko Cro Cop, who was thought to be the best stand-up heavyweight
in the sport when they met.
“I
think that his footwork as a boxer is not that great,” said
Roach. “I know he is a good puncher coming forward, but
as far as his forward contact rating, I think we have a huge
advantage in the footwork and we can take advantage of that.”
Roach
said the key is to use angles in his favor. “If you’re
in front of him, he’ll destroy you. You can’t stand
in front of him.”
Arlovski,
29, a native of Belarus, comes into the fight with a 14-5 record
with 10 wins coming by knockout. His biggest win, the heel hook
on the same Sylvia that brought him the UFC title in just 47
seconds at UFC 51, was set up by a knockdown.
He’s
remarkably light on his feet for someone who comes in at nearly
240 pounds. He’s good at avoiding takedowns, although good
heavyweight wrestlers like Jake O’Brien and Roy Nelson have
gotten him on his back in recent fights. But neither was able
to hurt him from there. He has a solid enough ground game that
he’s never been submitted.
But
the big question mark is Arlovski’s chin. All but one of
his losses, including the match where he dropped the title back
to Sylvia, have been by knockout. And Emelianenko is the hardest
puncher he’s ever faced.
“I’ve
watched Fedor in his last 20 fights,” said Roach. “I’m
tired of watching Fedor. We study him every day. And I watch
what we can do. He’s a good puncher. I’m not saying
that he’s not. He punches very well. But his boxing skills
and footwork are not that great. I think that’s where we
can take advantage in the fight.”
Roach,
coming off leading Manny Pacquiao to his upset of De La Hoya
last month, has talked up Arlovski as having the potential to
quickly become a heavyweight contender if he would move into
his sport.
In
fact, should he win, Roach said he’d like Arlovksi to challenge
Nikolai Valuev, the 7-foot Russian who holds the World Boxing
Association heavyweight championship.
“That
should be his next fight,” said Roach. “The Affliction
champ against a boxing champion.”
“We
have an Olympian from Africa who is one of his main sparring
partners,” said Roach. “And a Mexican champion who
has 90 wins and five losses, and as an amateur was No. 2 in the
world. He already boxed him, and he has a good style just like
Fedor, very much like him. I mean, we have him sparring some
tough guys in there. And you know Juan Carlos Gomez. And Andrei
is 50/50 with him and he’s fighting for the world title
in his next fight. So, in boxing, he’s doing fine.
“Again,
I’m not a genius at the ground game,” Roach continued.
“I don’t understand the science of it yet because I’m
very new. But the thing is, his boxing game is very good now
and we have the greatest wrestling coaches and jiu-jitsu coaches
here, too.”
Arlovski’s
last two fights saw him stop Rothwell and Nelson, two 260-pound
heavyweights known for their ability to take punishment.
Neither
could match his hand speed standing, and he was aggressive in
both cases in finishing them when he got them hurt. Previously,
he had appeared gun shy in wanting to exchange after being knocked
out in his title loss to Sylvia at UFC 59, a bout which he dominated
until eating an uppercut that put him out.
Arlovski
thinks that Emelianenko, coming off his first competition loss
in eight years, a Nov. 16 loss to Bulgaria’s Blagoy Ivanov
via decision in sambo, a Russian form of judo and the sport Arlovski
started his career doing before picking up the stand-up game,
works to his advantage. Emelianenko has disregarded the loss
as any sign of his slowing down or playing a part in this match,
noting it was in a different sport with different rules.
“Everyone
thought he was unbeatable for a few years,” said Arlovski.
“A loss is a loss and of course he’s disappointed.
And I just hope he trains harder for my fight. And so, I am training
harder too … I want to be the first person to beat him like
the first person to beat Mike Tyson. And I will do everything
possible to beat him.”
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Rua
rewarded despite atrocious performance
DUBLIN,
Ireland – UFC president Dana White came to the postfight
news conference only briefly on Saturday following a stellar
live night of fights at UFC 93 in the O2 Arena.
He
stayed long enough to announce that there were two bouts chosen
as Fight of the Night. It was a given that Marcus Davis’
split-decision victory over Chris Lytle would be one of them.
But
it seemed like someone’s idea of a bad joke when White announced
he was also giving $40,000 bonuses for co-Fight of the Night
to Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Mark Coleman.
If
Rua were an honest man, he’d have declined the check from
White because he neither deserved nor earned it.
And
nor does he deserve to be regarded at this point as one of the
elite light heavyweights in the world because he’s performing
at a very substandard level.
Coleman
gassed out about three minutes into the fight, but he deserves
respect for simply getting into the cage and competing as hard
as he did. He had little to offer, but he pushed the supposed
superstar nearly to the limit.
Coleman
is 44 and had not fought in 27 months prior to Saturday. Plus,
he fought for the first time at 205 pounds, cutting about 25
pounds from his normally muscular frame.
He
was ready to be stopped in the first round, and Rua couldn’t
stop him. He was ready to go in the second round, and Rua didn’t
have the gas in his own tank to finish him off.
Coleman
finally went after being hit with an overhand right as he was
standing along the cage in the final minute of the fight. While
not quibbling with referee Kevin Mulhall’s decision to stop
the bout, he also didn’t give Coleman much leeway.
And
it’s not as if Rua pounced like a cat. He moved more like
a housecat that had gotten into a bag of Friskies and gorged
itself. He was slow and sluggish and not particularly menacing.
In
addition to the bonus, Rua got a main event spot at UFC 97 in
Montreal on April 18 opposite Chuck Liddell, White announced
after the fight.
Liddell
certainly hasn’t been terrorizing anyone like the Iceman
of old, but if Rua doesn’t significantly step up his game,
count on Liddell getting another Knockout of the Night bonus.
Rua
was that bad.
He
didn’t look much like a winner on Saturday at the postfight
news conference. Most of the questions posed to him were regarding
his poor performance and suspect conditioning. He sat glumly
throughout the event, rarely cracking a smile.
He
blamed his poor performance on a 16-month layoff following a
loss to Forrest Griffin at UFC 76. Rua, who lost his conditioning
in that submission defeat, had two surgeries on his knee from
which he needed to recuperate.
“I
stayed sidelined for one year and a half,” Rua said. “I
went through surgeries. That is not easy, and that took a lot
of my conditioning. It’s one thing to train and another
thing to fight. When you get back to fighting, you have to get
back your rhythm. I paid a price for that, but I’m sure
that by my next fight, I’ll be more prepared and in better
shape, with better conditioning, to give my fans a great show.”
That
would be a perfectly reasonable excuse, except Rua said 180 degrees
the opposite at the prefight news conference. On Thursday, he
walked to the microphone, and in an opening statement, before
he was asked a question, said he had trained feverishly and that
training always is harder than the fights.
Coleman
was hurting Rua with a jab that looked like it was moving in
slow motion Saturday, but it kept landing the range and eventually
won over the crowd. The sellout crowd of 9,369 had overwhelmingly
favored Rua when the show began.
But
by the third round, the crowd switched its loyalties to Coleman.
He was the guy with little making the most of what he had. Rua,
reputedly one of the UFC’s most naturally gifted fighters,
was the guy squandering his fortune.
Rua
can’t be regarded as a major figure if he either struggles
against or is beaten by Liddell.
It’s
time for Rua to show the skills that caused many to rank him
as the second-best fighter in the world at the time he signed
with the UFC in 2007.
Right
now, it’s not clear he’s the second-best fighter in
his family; brother Murilo might be.
Mirko
“Cro Cop” Filipovic was a colossal flop in the UFC
after his much-ballyhooed move from PRIDE in 2006. And Rua now
is riding that same path as Cro Cop.
Rua
only recently turned 27 and has plenty of time to become the
dominant fighter he was when he won the PRIDE Grand Prix in 2005.
These
days, though, that fighter is long, long gone.
Source: Yahoo Sports
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TYSON
GRIFFIN VS RAFAEL DOS ANJOS ON APRIL 1
The upcoming April 1 UFC Fight Night card continues to fill up
as MMAWeekly.com has confirmed that Tyson Griffin is set to return
to action on the show with his likely opponent being Brazilian
fighter, Rafael Dos Anjos.
The
bout was confirmed on Monday by sources close to the fight, who
indicated that while it is not signed yet, it is likely to take
place at this point in the negotiation.
Tyson
Griffin, currently sporting a 5-2 record in the UFC, steps into
the bout off the heels of a loss to former lightweight champion,
Sean Sherk, in late October.
The
two powerful lightweights waged an impressive stand-up battle
for the biggest portion of the fight, but in the end Griffin
came up short in a three round decision loss.
Looking
to step right back into competition, Griffin will now likely
face another top grappler in Rafael Dos Anjos, who made his debut
at UFC 91 in November, losing by knockout to Jeremy Stephens.
Dos
Anjos was doing very well in his performance during the fight
with Stephens, until he was caught with a devastating uppercut
in the third round that brought about the end of the fight.
With
a rapidly growing lightweight division, the bout between Griffin
and Dos Anjos will be critical for the futures of both fighters.
While
the UFC has made no official announcement about the card, it
is believed to be taking place in Nashville, Tenn and will serve
as a lead in for the 9th season of the "Ultimate Fighter"
reality show.
Source: MMA Weekly
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Liddell
to face Shogun
Bout set for UFC 97, in April
Mauricio
Shogun is still celebrating his TKO win over Mark Coleman at
UFC 93, but already has his mind on his next challenge. Shortly
after the event in Dublin, Ireland, UFC president Dana White
confirmed the Brazilian will be facing Chuck Liddell in the main
event of UFC 97, to take place April 18, in Montreal, Canada.
There
is no lack of motivation for Shogun. Besides recovering from
a frustrating loss to Forrest Griffin at his UFC debut, the Brazilian
was awarded a 40 thousand dollar check, along with his opponent,
for having participated in the fight of the night. The other’s
to win bonuses were Marcus Davis and Chris Lytle (also for being
“fight of the night), Dennis Siver (for his knockout of
Nate Mohr) and Alan Belcher (for his submission of Dennis Kang).
Source: Gracie Magazine |
Rampage
vs Jardine in March
Fight to feature in UFC 96
The
weekend was full of news from the UFC organization. Besides confirming
the bout between Mauricio Shogun and Chuck Liddell for UFC 97,
in April, Dana White announced Quinton Jackson will be facing
Keith Jardine at UFC 96, expected to be held March 7, in Columbus,
Ohio.
The
curious part is how both Jackson and Jardine recently faced Wanderlei
Silva. While Rampage had his revenge over the Brazilian by knocking
his rival out at UFC 92, in December, Jardine was simply demolished
by Wand, who knocked him out in just 36 seconds at UFC 84, March
of last year.
The
confirmation of the Jackson – Jardine bout puts an end to
speculation over Rampage possible facing Brazilian Luis Banha.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Palhares'
boxing coach comments training
The
responsible for the Boxing training of athletes like Murilo Bustamante,
Pedro Rizzo, Rodrigo “Minotauro”, Marco Ruas, Ryan
and Royce Gracie, Zé Mário Sperry and many others,
the Boxing coach Cláudio Coelho has improved Rousimar
“Toquinho” Palhares stand up game to face Jeremy Horn
at UFC 93.
Commenting
on the training of the Brazilian, Claudio is only confidence
for a Brazilian victory in Dublin, Ireland: “I always bet
on Toquinho. If it snaps straight game, he's favorite. He’s
a guy very well physically conditioned, well prepared, but the
fighter also depends on luck. I’m suspect to talk about
it, but by his potential, only if the game doesn’t fit right,
like against Dan Henderson, but I bet on him", said the
coach. “I'm always cheering for him, against anyone. He’s
a great guy, very polite and has desire to win. Toquinho is special
", praises Claudio, drawing to comment Rodrigo Minotauro
loss at UFC 92, when he was knocked out by Frank Mir and lost
the interim heavyweight title.
“He
wasn’t on his day. He had a good preparation, either in
Boxing, Wrestling and ground game, but sometimes it’s not
the day... Everyone thought he would win, but these things happen.
It wasn’t for lack of training, they trained everything,
but on the day the things doesn’t fit. Minotauro has potential,
he already shown that. Disasters like this happen. If he has
chance to fight with this guy he can win, but we cannot diminish
what his opponent did, was willing and able to overcome this,
he had his merits. People are saying now that Minotauro’s
boxing wasn’t good... No, he trained everything, but it
wasn’t his day", finalized Claudio.
Source: Tatame |
PALASZEWSKI
VS. CRUNKILTON IN WEC MARCH 1
As the March 1 WEC card in Corpus Christi, TX starts to take
shape, MMAWeekly.com has confirmed that Bart Palaszewski and
Richard Crunkilton will do battle in a lightweight match-up that
could land the winner in title contention.
The
fight was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com on Monday by sources close
to the fight, who indicated the bout was official between to
the two competitors.
After
spending 2 years with the now defunct International Fight League,
Bart "Bartimus" Palaszewski, made his debut with the
WEC in Dec 2008 with a TKO win over former "Ultimate Fighter"
cast member, Alex Karalexis.
A
training partner of fellow WEC contender Jeff Curran, Palaszewski
is seen as a powerfully strong striker with a solid ground game
to back him up.
Now
Palaszewski has a chance to cement himself as a contender in
the WEC's lightweight division against another tough competitor
in Richard "Cleat" Crunkilton.
Previously
earning a shot at the 155lb title, Crunkilton lost by TKO to
now former champion, Rob McCullough, in Sept 2007, but returned
to form with a win over Sergio Gomez in March 2008.
Since
that time Crunkilton has not fought, but he will have a chance
to possibly get back to a title shot when facing Palaszewski
on March 1.
It
is unknown at this time if the bout between Palaszewski and Crunkilton
will be featured on the televised card, but the show will be
headlined with two title fights pitting Carlos Condit against
Brock Larson for the welterweight crown, and Mike Brown against
Leonard Garcia for the 145lb title.
Source: MMA Weekly
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Royler
Gracie Seminar in Hawaii!
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Royler
Gracie Seminar in Hawaii!
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